30 Days to Live
by Raindrop123
Summary: Claire had a pretty good life...until she found out that she had a fatal disease. What will she do to make her last few weeks memorable? ...I'm bad at summaries. Rated T to be safe.
1. Arachnophobia

**Hello! This is my second fic, but it's also my first fic with more than one chapter! Yay! Okay, so, I'll try to update often. I already have chapter 2 written, but I'm revising it to make it acceptable, so that will be up in a few days. So, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing... :(**

"Almost done," I sighed as I refilled my watering can. Even if it was still morning, I felt as exhausted as if I had been working for 2 days straight. I'd been in Mineral Town for 1 ½ years, but I had never felt this tired. It's probably nothing to worry about.

I watered the last of my sweet potatoes. I dropped down next to my plants, breathing in the fresh air. After a few minutes I got up, brushing off my blue overalls. I ambled over to the entrance to my farm, intending to go visit my friends.

"Now, where should I go first?" I asked myself. _Great, I'm talking to myself, the number one sign of insanity._ Shaking that thought out of my head, I decided that I would go to the Church.

Cliff and I are very close friends. I try to visit him every day, but since the Church is the farthest building from my farm, I don't always have the motivation to walk all the way over there just to have Cliff mumble a few words to me.

I arrived at the Church and stepped inside. Pastor Carter was standing in his usual place at the altar. Cliff was sitting in the pews. I sauntered up to him and sat down in the pew. Cliff moved his head slightly to acknowledge my presence.

"Hey, Cliff!" I nearly shouted in his ear, which caused a chain reaction of him jumping a foot in the air. He was obviously not expecting that.

"W-What was t-that f-for?!" he complained.

"I wanted to see what would happen," I answered innocently. Cliff tried to glare at me, but he failed miserably, instead he looked like a hurt puppy.

"Here, I made you some Curry Rice!" I told him as I pulled the dish out of my bag. Cliff started blushing profusely.

"T-T-Thank y-you! B-B-But…w-w-why?" Cliff stammered. I giggled as he steadily became more and more flustered.

"Because you're my friend, and that's what friends do!" I replied proudly. Still blushing, Cliff turned away. "Well, I'm gonna go now. Bye, Cliff!"

As I walked out of the Church, I took an immediate right, my new destination being the Library. On my way, I gazed at the fall flowers that were beginning to bloom, smiling at the thought of all the wonderful scents and fragrances that would soon join the air in just a few weeks time. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice that I was at the Library until I ran right into the door.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! …ouch…that hurt!" I cried, feeling the pain in my nose, the place where the door had hit with the most force. Nonetheless, I entered the Library, clutching my almost-bleeding nose.

"Claire, did you run into the door again?" Mary asked me sympathetically. I nodded with a pained expression. "I think you should let the Doctor have a look at that."

I thought for a moment. Going to the doctor for running into a door? That seems kind of juvenile… "Okay…" I mumbled as I left, heading towards the Clinic. Experimentally, I wiggled my nose a bit to see how much pain it would cause. Unfortunately, the pain reached an all-time high as I almost fell down to my knees from the agony that was practically blinding my eyes. _Maybe it's a good thing I'm going to the Clinic…_ I admitted to myself.

Finally, after what had seemed like an hour-long walk, I had reached the Clinic. I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and went inside.

"Hello, Claire! How may I help you?" Elli, Doctor's assistant, greeted me. "Oh my! Have you broken your nose?"

I nodded very slowly, careful not to move the hand supporting my nose even by a millimeter. Elli rushed to my side and shunted me behind the curtain where the Doctor was. She strode over to the Doctor and whispered in his ear. Doctor then stood up and motioned for me to follow him. I was lead to, I assume, the examining room. Without saying a word, Doctor gently pulled my hand away from my face, trying to get a better look at my nose.

"Mhmm…" Doctor murmured. "I see. Claire, I have to ask you a few questions. What wer- wait…Claire…what is that?" Doctor was gesturing towards a small mark on my lower arm. It looked like a pale circle, surrounded by a red ring.

"Oh, that's a spider bite I got a few weeks ago. Funny, I would've thought that it would be gone by now…" I mused. Looking at the Doctor's expression, I noticed that it was scared…surprised…and fearful…all in one. I didn't know why he was acting like this; it was just a spider bite.

"This…spider...do you know what kind it was?" Doctor inquired. I racked my brains, straining to remember.

"Um…it was a black widow, I think...why?" I responded, thinking that this bit of information was useless.

"Claire…this is serious…have you felt any signs of…weakness, nausea, or muscle cramps?" He looked me straight in the eye, as though daring me to make light of this situation…which I was.

"Come to think of it…yeah, I felt extremely tired this morning…and a few days ago, I could barely move without feeling nauseous… " I recalled. Doctor groaned and left the room, leaving me all by my lonesome. I'm sure he wants me to stay here…he's probably looking up what those symptoms mean or something…

I turned and stared out of a window next to the bed I was sitting on. I saw May and Stu walking down the path together, probably going to the Church… I watched the clouds in the sky float pointlessly, as if they didn't have a care in the world. I wish I could be carefree like that…but it's not that simple…

I leaned my head down to look at the windowsill, and received a jolt when I saw a tiny spider crawling towards me. Now, I have nothing against spiders, but ever since I had gotten bit by that black widow, I have been scared of spiders like no other. Arachnophobia, some would call it… I just call it Claire-being-stupid-by-being-scared-of-little-harmless-creatures…yup.

Scooting away from the window, I heard someone cough from the doorway. I turned and saw Doctor standing there, wearing a very solemn expression, much different than his earlier expression…

"Claire, I have…terrible news…" Doctor began. My eyes widened, I didn't like where this was going. I held my breath while Doctor took in a big breath. I prepared myself for the worst…

**:D How was it? I will gladly accept any critisisms/comments/suggestions/thoughts/blah, blah, blah, and so on. Please Review!**


	2. A Month

**Thank you for your wonderful reviews! Here is chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, though I wish I did.**

Doctor shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Claire…you seem to have…ah, a disease called 'Fulminant Myocarditis'," Doctor stated uneasily. I stared at him.

"Fulmio-what? English please?" I urged the Doctor. But he just stood there looking at his feet. Okay, this was going nowhere. If he just kept his mouth shut the whole time, how was I supposed to know what this unpronounceable disease was?

I stepped up to him and grabbed his face, forcing him to look up at me. I narrowed my sapphire blue eyes.

"I want to know NOW what that disease is, or so help me, I will make SURE you don't live to see tomorrow!" I threatened him. Doctor immediately stepped back from surprise and looked desperately around the room for a distraction…or something that would prevent me from beating him to a pulp. Sighing, he finally looked me in the eyes.

"It's a severe inflammation of the muscular wall of the heart…" he began, but I interrupted him.

"Once again, ENGLISH!" I said dramatically, waving my arms around like an idiot. Doctor rolled his eyes.

"It means that your heart is unable to circulate your blood. You seem to have most of the symptoms, weakness, nausea, and muscle cramps," replied Doctor. "This is a fatal disease caused by black widow bites, and can be cured under very strict treatments. Unfortunately, I am not able to provide these treatments, seeing as how only the professionals in big cities have them…so, I am sorry to say, you will only be alive for a month."

My mouth dropped open. A _month_?! I have a month to live?! This couldn't be happening, no, this _isn't_ happening! I must be dreaming…yeah! All I have to do to wake up is to hurt myself, right?

I turned away from the man in front of me, towards the wall, and ran.

I could see stars…wait, why am I seeing stars? I shifted my head and noticed Doctor looking down at me with a baffled expression. That's when I noticed I was laying on the ground. I quickly stood up, not looking at the Doctor.

"So…I'm gonna go now…" I mumbled. Now that I knew that I wasn't dreaming, I was feeling rather depressed. Walking out into the lobby, Elli cheerily waved to me. Not returning the gesture, I stepped outside. That's when I remembered.

Doctor didn't fix my nose.

--------

**Cliff's POV**

Wandering down the path towards the Inn, I looked upwards towards the sky. It was almost dark out, so it was time for me to go to bed. I'm one of those early-to-bed-early-to-rise kind of people. I paused just outside the door of the Inn when I saw a flash of yellow. Intrigued, I crept towards it.

About ten feet away, I saw that it was Claire. I had seen her blonde hair as she ran down the road. She was crying while sitting in a patch of grass, wailing farewells to random objects.

"Good-bye, sweet grass! Farewell, gorgeous flowers! I'll miss you, wonderful fences!" she screamed. I stepped in front of her, and she looked up at me with red eyes and a tear-stained face. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but Claire interrupted me.

"Cliff! I'm so sorry for anything mean to you I've ever done! And for embarrassing you sometimes! And for-" her continuous apologies stopped short, and without warning, jumped up and gave me a big bear hug.

"Wha-" I choked. Why was Claire hugging me? Claire suddenly stopped hugging me, and sat back down.

"Cliff, I have bad news…" Claire started. "I…I have this disease. I don't really know how to pronounce it, but apparently it's very deadly…and Doctor said…he said…I will die within a month."

I stood, appalled at those words. Die?! In a month? No. No, no, no! I won't let my only actual friend in this town die! I won't!

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I insisted hopefully. Claire shook her head.

"No, Doctor said only professional doctors in big cities have the proper treatments."

Defeated, I sat down next to Claire.

"What now?" I asked her. She thought for a second.

"How about I try to have as much fun as possible, before I…you know," she decided. I grinned, which is something I don't do very often.

"What are you planning to do first?" I questioned. Claire looked around for inspiration, then, coming to a decision, she looked at me.

"Well, let's start small, how about a big get-together with all of our friends?" Claire suggested. I nodded my head and replied an "Okay," but on the inside, I felt like this wouldn't be much fun, the only people I ever talked to were Claire and Carter, and Carter definitely wasn't coming.

"Hmm…let's make it a…dance, I guess? …but I don't want anyone but you and Mary to know what's going on with me…so don't go telling the whole world, got it?" She glared at me. Please, like _I,_ of all people would go running around the town yelling at everyone. But I agreed nonetheless.

"Who are you going to invite?" I wondered aloud.

"Well, obviously you and Mary, we can also invite Ann, Elli, Gray, Doctor, Karen, Rick, and Popuri." she responded. "I think I should go home now, I have plans to make."

At this, Claire smiled and left, going down the road to her farm. I followed suit, but went down another road, the one leading to the Inn, thinking the whole way there.

This is going to be interesting.

**If you're wondering whether or not I made up that disease, well it's real, and can be caused by black widow bites. But that is very rare and it's only if you react to bites. But no one has to know that, right? **

**I will post chapter 3 soon, and it will be longer than chapters 1 and 2. But I'm only halfway done with it. :) Reviews are welcome!**


	3. The Dance

**This is chapter 3! (I'm sure you've all guessed that much already, though)**

**Random Jelly Beans: That is a very good point! I honestly didn't think about having her looking for a professional. XD That shows you how smart I am. So, thank you for pointing that out! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

"That sounds like so much fun!" Ann screamed when she heard about the dance. "I have a few questions though…who, what, when, where, why, and how?"

Baffled, I tried to answer her questions. "Um…Me, you, Mary, Cliff, Gray, Karen, Rick, Popuri, Doctor, and Elli. A dance. Tomorrow at 7. The Inn. I feel like it. You and I are gonna plan it. Did I answer them all?"

"Yup!" Ann said brightly. "Now, to start planning…should we make it formal, or casual?"

"Casual," I answered. I did NOT want to wear a dress. I loathe them…

"No, I'll make it formal…you never dress up EVER so you need to have a reason to!" Ann told me sternly, while giving me the evil eye. Wow, that look is scary…Ann can be very frightening when she wanted to be.

"Hey! No, you never dress up either!" I retorted. Ann simply laughed.

"That's because I have no reason to! Now I do, and so do you!" Ann paused for a second. "I made a rhyme!"

I slapped my forehead. This was going to be a long day.

--------

I rushed through my farm work, milking my cows, shearing my sheep, petting my chickens, and watering my plants. For a moment I forgot the reason for going through my chores so quickly, then I remembered that I wanted to have enough time to pick out my wardrobe for tonight.

Ann said that she would come over with the girls so we could get ready together…an old Mineral Town tradition for any dances. They would be here at 4, so I had 1 hour before they came.

I dashed into my house and scanned all of my clothes. I had 2 dresses, which my mother sent to me from home.

One of them was strapless. It was also white with intricate blue floral patterns on the material, which slanted downwards from the left side of the waist, to the right foot. The lower layer of material was a different type of fabric, which went straight down from the waist.

The second one was, in my opinion, revolting. It was orange with a T-shirt neckline, an aqua bow that wraps around the dress just above the hips and ties in the back. No way was I wearing this one. Why did my mother even send it?!

I heard a knock at the door, and whipped around to glance at the clock. It's already 4? I must've been staring at these dresses for a long time.

Another knock resounded throughout my tiny house. I hustled over to the door to let in the impatient visitors. Ann barreled into the room and immediately took notice of the two dresses lying on my bed…when did I put them there? I must've _really _been out of it.

"Claire! How could you even _think_ about wearing this dress?!" Ann said, indicating the orange dress.

"Yeah, that dress is rather unattractive, Claire," added Mary, who had silently followed Ann into my house. I noticed that Elli, Popuri, and Karen were also here. I got many more comments about how crazy I was and how ugly the dress was before I managed to shut them up.

"Seriously guys! I'mnot wearing that thing! Okay?" I yelled. They all nodded in unison.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Does everyone have a dress to wear?" Ann asked the girls. We all nodded again. "What are you waiting for? Let me see them to say if they're acceptable or not!"

I stood there, my dress already out, and watched as they scrambled to get their dresses out of their bags that they brought.

Karen had brought a strapless aqua colored dress. It had sequins along the top and below the hips. The bottom of the dress had layers, or ruffles, extending to the floor.

For Popuri was a hot pink dress with sleeves half-way down to her elbows. The top had detailed patterns and the bottom was flowy and bell-shaped.

Elli brought along a short off-white dress that had a smaller bell shape than Popuri's. It also had a small white bow on the front. It was slightly frilly.

Mary had a simple dark blue dress with a square neckline. It hung down to her knees and had a matching blue belt. The texture looks very soft and silky.

Ann was carrying a buttercup yellow sundress with a pleated skirt. It also had a wide ribbon that tied in the back and was knee length.

Inspecting all of our dresses, Ann had finally said, "All are acceptable!"

Karen sneered. "Who made you the fashion police? You don't even wear dresses!"

"You're the one to talk. The only people here that ever wear dresses are Popuri and Elli!" Ann retorted.

"HEY! How about we not fight today…?" I suggested. Ann smiled.

"Okay everybody! We have 2 ½ hours to get ready! We'll get dressed, then we'll do hair and make-up." Ann told us. Everyone started changing into their dress, so I went over to my bed and picked up my dress. I looked over it one more time before shedding my overalls and slipping the dress on.

It fit perfectly. It was tight around the top, and loose, but not too loose, around the waist. I grinned; maybe I should wear dresses more often.

Just kidding.

"I wanna do her hair!" Ann shouted. Her? Which her?

She rushed over to me and pushed me down into the nearest chair. Oh, me. Of course. I felt Ann pulling and tugging at my hair. Was Ann trying to make me bald or something?!

Elli stepped in front of me and crouched down to be eye-level with me.

"Claire, I'm going to do your make-up, okay?" she said slowly. I felt my eyes widen as I furiously shook my head no. I immediately felt another hard tug from Ann. They knew I hated make-up. Why must they torture me?

Elli ignored my refusal and pulled out an applicator. She dabbed it into the eye shadow powder. After a minute or two of struggling, I finally gave up and let her do my make-up.

"You're done!" Ann and Elli called in unison. I opened my eyes tentatively, and roamed over to my mirror.

Elli was excellent with make-up; she had applied a light blue shade of eye shadow, and added little sparkles around my eyes. She also put light pink lip gloss on me.

Although, it was Ann's work that had really surprised me. She had curled my hair, not extreme curls though, and pulled it up, causing it to cascade down. She had made little ringlets with tiny pieces of my hair and clipped in some beads.

Overall, I looked completely different.

------

All six of us were ready and about to leave to the Inn. I peeked over at my friends. They had all done something special with their hair as Ann had with my hair, and applied eye shadow that went great with their eyes.

Ann had let her hair out of her braid, making it very wavy and cute. It extended down her lower back. Her eye shadow was a dark brown color.

Elli's hair was difficult to do, since it's so short, but she managed. She made a deep side part to make her hair sweep over her eyes. She had put on a light brown eye shadow.

Karen just curled her hair and pulled into a side ponytail. She was wearing light brown eye shadow like Elli.

Popuri had straightened her curly pink hair, making it much longer than before. She had applied rosy pink eye shadow that made her ruby eyes pop.

Mary had taken her hair down and put it back up into a braided bun, and she had applied smoky eye shadow to compliment her grey eyes.

Ann stood in front of us. She had this mischievous gleam in her eye that told me she planned something that someone…also known as me…doesn't know about. Yay.

"Now, we're going to leave one at a time, so I'll go first, then wait a few seconds, Karen will follow me. After a few more seconds, Elli will go, then Popuri, Mary, and Claire. Got it?" Ann gave a meaningful look at the girls, not including me, so I guess you could say they all knew what Ann was planning.

"Here I go…!" Ann said creepily. I raised an eyebrow. Ann went out the door.

**Ann's POV**

This was great. _Perfect_. Claire didn't suspect a thing…at least I don't think she did.

As soon as I left, I sprinted all the way to the winery, which wasn't easy in a dress. I had taken my shoes off though, so that helped. The winery was the intended meeting place for me, Karen, Elli, Mary, and Popuri, because it was close to the Inn.

After waiting a few moments, I saw Karen, not sprinting, but jogging. Her dress was harder to run in since it was longer and was strapless.

Next, I saw Elli running at the same speed as Karen was. However, Popuri was skipping merrily along. Mary had to run the fastest for the plan to work though, so she was having real trouble. She can't run very fast.

Eventually we were all together and started walking towards the Inn.

I had wanted all of us to arrive at the same time so we couldn't make a spectacular entrance. So Claire would be the only one doing that.

**Claire's POV**

Mary had just left, so I headed towards the door. I walked out into the fresh, crisp fall air. I walked cheerfully along to the Inn, wondering how this night was going to turn out. Was I going to dance with any of the guys? Was it going to be like one of those middle school dances where the girls stay at one side of the room, and the guys on the other? No, Ann would make sure that didn't happen.

I arrived at the Inn and took a big breath. Here goes nothing. I stepped inside.

I looked around the room to see all of the guys' eyes on me. I felt a blush spreading across my cheeks; I've never liked being stared at, it's disturbing.

"Um…hi?" I uttered quietly. I stepped over to where the bar was, and where Mary was.

"This is awkward…" I told her.

"No it isn't, you just _think_ it is," Mary corrected. I groaned at her obliviousness.

I twisted around in my seat. Everyone was still staring at me. "It is."

"Now, who thinks we should get this party started?!" yelled Ann from across the room. She started up some music. Low and behold, it was slow music. Is that how she always gets the 'party started'?

I glanced over my shoulder again and saw Gray approaching me.

"Hey, Claire. Do you…uh, want to…dance with me?" he asked_ very_ awkwardly. From behind him, Ann was giving me a thumbs-up.

"Okay," I took his outstretched hand and got up from my chair. Once we were in the middle of the room, where all the other dancing couples were, I set my hands on his shoulders while he put his on my waist. We swayed to the slow beat of the song.

_Awkward, awkward, awkward…_I kept repeating in my head. I turned my head around for the millionth time that day, and saw Cliff sulking in the corner of the room. Every once in a while, he would glance up at Gray and I with a jealous expression.

The song ended and changed to a faster song. I stepped away from Gray.

I saw Cliff still in the corner of the room talking to Ann. She had a very sympathetic face and nodded whenever Cliff paused. I was about to walk over there, but Ann stood up before I could move my feet, and came over to me.

"Claire! Dance with me!" Ann started busting dance moves right there on the spot. "C'mon! Dance!"

I started laughing at her interesting dancing, and began dancing like her. Soon we were busting our guts laughing so hard. All of a sudden, Ann stopped and started making loud coughing sounds…_fake_ coughing, by the way.

I gave her the weirdest look I could, but she took no notice and ran away. Well, _that_ was strange… Sighing, I turned around, running straight into Cliff.

"Oh, hey Cliff."

"H-Hey, C-C-Claire," he shifted uneasily. "So…um, d-do you w-w-want to d-dance?"

I smiled. "Sure!"

The fast song stopped half-way through and reverted into a slow song.

"Uh…" I managed. I blame Ann. "Do you still want to dance?"

"O-Okay…"

Cliff set his hands at the same place Gray's hands had been earlier just as I placed my hands on his shoulders. We swayed.

_This isn't so bad…at least, not as bad as Gray. _I thought. I smiled up at Cliff, who was taller than me. He gave me a shy, lopsided grin. His face had a faint pink hue.

"Have you told anybody?" I asked Cliff menacingly, referring to my disease.

"No, why would I? You told me not to, and I respect that."

"Good," I looked into his deep purple eyes. He may sound calm and collected, but his eyes were deceiving him. They looked sad, and nervous.

Why would he be nervous?

From behind me, I heard the door open. Thinking that everyone was already here, I turned around. I felt my body freeze up, my stomach drop. I couldn't breathe.

"Jack."

**Oooh...who's Jack?! But everyone probably knows already... AND for anyone who doesn't understand my horrible dress and hair descriptions...I'll post the pictures on my profile page soon after I post this...**

**So...Review and tell me anything I missed or messed up that's painfully obvious, okay? **

**Also, expect chapter 4 soon! **


	4. Jack

**Hola~ Here is Chapter 4! Hopefully you didn't wait too long...**

**Oh! I'm so very happy, because there is no school tomorrow! Which is very rare, because we've been iced in...and I live in Texas...so ice is rare(I know that's kind of stereo-typical...but it's true!). XD Yes, so it's a nice change, AND no bio test tomorrow!**

**Okay, back to the story! Enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: Nothing in this following chapter is mine, nor will ever be mine.**

_What is he doing here?!_

The hum of talking slowly died down and the music stopped as everyone became aware of the newcomer.

Cliff looked from me to Jack, confused.

"Jack…" I choke out again.

"Hey, sis," he greeted me confidently. I felt anger grow inside of me.

"How _dare _you! You come here, act like everything is just dandy, and you expect me to forget _everything_ you did to me, and just pretend that nothing had _ever_ happened, do you?! No! I will_ not_ forget that, Jack! I won't! You practically ruined my life! _How_ am I supposed to forget that? Get brainwashed?!" I hate him. I hate him. I _hate _him.

"Now now, Claire," Jack spoke quietly. "That's not what I expected at all. But I'll be happy to try to get you brainwashed, if you want."

The Inn was completely silent now, watching the screaming match between me and Jack.

"NO! I don't even know _why_ I'm even wasting my time with you right now, because it's not worth it. I could be having the time of my life at this dance! But nooo, you just _had_ to show up and ruin my life _again_! My life is already ruined a second time because of my disea-" I stopped short. I had almost yelled out to the whole room that I had a disease. I wonder if anyone noticed…

"What was that? Disea? That doesn't sound like a word, sis. Care to finish that word?" Jack asked sweetly. I shook my head, my mouth tightly closed.

"It's none of your business, Jack. So I would appreciate it if you left. _Now._"

Jack sighed and walked over to where I was standing. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I need to talk to you outside."

"Why would you need me to talk to you outside?" I questioned him loudly. Jack smacked his forehead and pulled me outside by my arm. Once outside, I yanked away from his grasp angrily.

"_What?!_"

"It's about Mom and Dad. Dad died in surgery. Mom was overcome with grief, and died a week later. …Mom gave me this during her final moments. She wanted you to have it." Jack handed me a folded piece of paper. I took it, and unfolded it. Scanning it, I saw that it was Mom's handwriting.

_Dear Claire,_

_If you're reading this, then you can assume that I'm dead right now. Don't worry; I've gone to a better place, and so has your father. Now I know you're thinking, _everyone says that, _but it's true. _

_Now that I'm gone, I want you to take care of your brother and sister, okay? I'm trusting you. I know that you don't want to talk to Jack, and I understand that, but I want you to let go of the past. It's not good to hold grudges. _

_Remember those dresses I sent you? You're probably never going to wear them, but they have great sentimental value. They were your grandmother's, so don't let them go to waste. _

_Remember that I love you, and be careful._

_Love, Mom_

I looked up at Jack, my anger washing away, and tears stinging my eyes.

"Is Jill here too?" I wanted to see my sister so bad, it hurt. And Jack could see that.

"Yes, she's at the beach. You know how much she loves beaches." Jack answered softly.

"Can I go see her?" Jack nodded in reply. I don't even know why I had asked him if I could go, he can't tell me what to do. Either way, I took off towards the beach, the tears now running down my face.

"Jill!" I wailed as soon as I felt the sand at my feet. Jill, who was sitting on the dock, looked around. She had been crying, too. I sprinted over to her. She stood up and soon we were hugging and crying like there was no tomorrow. Jill eventually pulled away and looked at me.

"Wow, Claire, you look so different. Why are you wearing a dress? You've never worn a dress your whole life," she noticed. "And, just so you know, your make-up is messed up now."

I laughed quietly, wiping away my tears, probably messing up my make-up even more. I knew she said that to make me feel better…she has a knack for that. I sniffed.

"I don't care. I've missed you so much Jill, why haven't you visited sooner?"

"Oh, you know. Work, Jack, Mom and D-Dad…they all keep me pretty busy." I noticed she stuttered when she said "Mom and Dad".

"Yeah…so, how long are you planning on staying?" I hope she stays for a while; I want to catch up on anything interesting I might have missed while away from home.

"About a month, maybe." My younger sister answered. I suddenly felt more tears coming, but I blinked them away.

"Oh, a m-month… That's cool. How about I introduce you to my friends? I'm sure they'd love to meet you," I offered.

"Right now? It's like, 9 o' clock! Wouldn't they all be asleep?"

"Oh, no, they're all at the Inn. We were having a party, which explains my dress."

"Oh."

We started walking off the dock and onto the beach. I slipped off my shoes and felt the sand between my toes. But putting my shoes back on, I instantly regretted it, because now there was a ton of sand in my shoes.

We arrived back at the Inn, and saw Jack leaning against the wall. I ignored him, but when he saw another tear slide down my cheek, he caught my arm.

"Hey, don't cry sis," he _tried_ to comfort me.

"Don't talk to me."

Jill and I went inside. The music was still off, but everyone was sitting down at a table or the bar, chatting animatedly. When the door slammed shut, silence filled the room as it had before, and nine pairs of eyes looked up at me.

I looked at Jill nervously, then back at everyone else.

"Hey, this is Jill…" I said, indicating Jill. "She's my sister."

Silence.

"…Are you guys dead or something?" I was getting creeped out.

More silence.

"Right, well. I say we call it a night and…go home?" I twirled around and made for the door, but…

"C-Claire…" someone murmured. Facing back towards the crowd, I saw that the someone was Elli. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

"Why didn't you tell us about your…_disease_?"

Horrified, I looked around at Cliff. Did he tell?! His eyes were wide, and he was shaking his head furiously. Mary also had known about it, but I _know_ she wouldn't tell. So, if it wasn't Cliff or Mary, then it had to have been…Doctor.

I easily spotted Doctor in the crowd. I shot him a glare.

"Yeah…like I said, let's call it a night," I whirled around again and sprinted out the door. I didn't stop until I was back at home.

I slumped down onto the floor. The tears started to fall.

My world was slowly falling apart. Everything was going wrong. Why? _Why?!_ I hate my life. I have nothing to live for now. I should just die, right here, right now. All I'm doing is procrastinating the day of my death. This would be easier, right?

_No,_ said a little voice in my head. _It doesn't have to be this way. You have something to live for. Your friends, family. Don't give up._

What friends? What family? No one is _really_ here for me. None of them _really_ care about me. Besides, even if they did, how could I fix things? I'm going to die anyway.

_What are you saying, Claire? You _do_ have friends._ The voice was now indignant._ You have Mary, Cliff, and Ann. And you still have Jack and Jill. Of course they all care about you. You just need to give them a chance._

A chance…A chance… Could I have a second chance at life? Can I do something to fix everything?

_Yes._

**The ending...doesn't make sense... D: Oh well...**

**Any critisisms? Any comments? Review please! And can I please have more than 1 reviewer? Thank you! Buh-bye!**


	5. Strange Doctors

**Ahoj! (hello in Czech!) :) Heehee...I got reviews :D Thank you!**

**Well, the Texas ice is gone and its back to the normal heat again...I just had to tell you that! XD**

**I had to wait until this chapter for Claire to go to the city, because if I put it in chapter 4, then it wouldn't really makes sense, so I dedicated the city-trip to this whole chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Me own nothing!**

I was feeling more depressed than usual. Now that everyone knew about the disease, it felt more real than ever. Before, it was just a small complication in my life that I didn't take seriously, thinking that it would all be better soon. But…no. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt like there is a sliver of hope, something that can save my life…but what is it?

Realization hit me hard, literally knocking me over, and sending me toppling over a chair. Which is…strange. I didn't know that was possible…

What if…what if I was able to go the city, and get a treatment? That is probably the most sensible thing I've thought for a long time.

--------

I ambled down the path leading to the beach. I had arranged with Zack to take me to the city on the next boat, which leaves at 5:15, in 10 minutes. I also didn't want anybody to come with me, so I had made sure that no one found out that I was leaving.

I went down the steps leading down to the sand. I glanced up at the glaring sun, feeling the intense heat radiating off of it. I don't quite know why it was so hot today, seeing as it's Fall right now. I started to feel dizzy. I put my hand to my forehead, it was hot and sweaty.

I noticed that the ground was slowly getting closer. I distantly heard my name being called. Then, all I saw was blackness.

--------

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Doctor and Jill looking down at me. Jill sighed with relief when she noticed I was awake.

Slowly sitting up and rubbing my head, I asked, "What happened?"

Jill was the one that answered. "Well, I was sitting at the beach yesterday, and I saw you coming down the steps. Suddenly you stopped to look up at the sky, and you collapsed."

"Oh… what time is it?"

"It's about 7:30 in the morning," Jill said. I groaned; I missed the boat.

--------

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please?_"

I glared at Jill; she was trying so desperately to come with me to the city.

"_Why_ do you want to come with me so bad?" I shot at her. I _really_ didn't want her to come; I wanted to do this myself, not with an accompaniment.

"_Because_ Claire, you really expect me to let you go off to the city by yourself, with the risk of you collapsing again? That disease of yours will do something to you, and no one will help you because in the city, no one is willing to. To them, you're just a speck on their window." Jill explained exasperatedly. "They'll think, _nothing to worry about, just another person struggling for attention._ Don't you _see_, Claire?! If you happen to faint again, you'll probably stay collapsed until a random doctor comes along that's generous enough to help you! The odds are slim to none."

I stared wide-eyed at her. I hadn't really thought about that. Still, even if the odds of me being helped were slim to none, what were the odds of me collapsing again? Slim to none, of course.

"No," I told her. I strode away from her, across the Square, and onto the beach. I don't care what she says; she's not coming with me. No one is.

I stepped onto the boat, ready to go to the city. Hopefully I will be able to get the treatment, and afford it. Sighing, I leaned against the railings and looked out at the water as the boat lurched out of the dock. The ocean is so peaceful and interesting; I could stare at it all day without feeling bored. I breathed in the salty air, letting the air fill up my lungs, and let it all out with one big, refreshing sigh.

"We're here, Miss," Zack said, snapping me out of my trance.

"Thank you, Zack. Oh, and you can call me Claire, you know."

I looked up at the skyscrapers. It's been a while since my last visit to the city; everything is so different here compared to Mineral Town. Here it's so…polluted. I didn't like it.

I called a cab when I was on the curb. I thought I saw something brown flash in the corner of my eye, but thought nothing of it. Soon, a cab pulled up next to me, and I slid inside.

"The hospital, please," I requested. The cab driver looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Which one?" he asked. Honestly, I had no clue. I hadn't been here in such a long time, that I couldn't remember the name of the hospitals.

"Uh…I don't care. Any of them." I said. The driver shrugged and started to drive down the crowded, bustling highway.

"So, Miss, what's your name?" he inquired.

"…Claire…?" I answered unsurely. Why would he want to know my name?

"That's a very pretty name. Fits well for such a beautiful girl like yourself."

Okay, this was _seriously_ creepy! This guy's like, 40! I didn't respond.

"Oh, I get it. You're the shy type. Don't worry, you don't have to talk. My name's Venkataramananandan."

Venkataramananandan?! What kind of name is that? Wait, if that was his _first _name, what was his last name? I was slightly frightened to find out.

"What would your last name be?"

"Smith."

--------

I had finally arrived at the hospital after that…ahem, _interesting_ cab ride. I strolled inside, and up to the receptionist's desk.

"Hello, can I see a doctor, right away, please?" I asked innocently. The receptionist narrowed her eyes.

"Do you have an appointment?" she replied curtly.

"No."

"I see. In that case, you'll have to wait a while. And some advice: next time, make an appointment before barging in here acting like you're more important than everyone else," My jaw dropped open.

"Well, I'm sorry…" I looked at her nameplate. _"Ms. Cheyenne__._ But this is of extreme emergency."

Ms. Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "Then I'm sure you won't mind if you wait for a few more moments."

Hmm…a few more moments isn't too bad… With the feeling of achievement, I sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room. I simultaneously crossed my arms and legs as I waited.

The clock ticked with every passing second, growing increasingly irritating.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

My eye was starting to twitch at each tick.

_Tick, _twitch, _tock, _twitch.

I looked over at the receptionist, who was wearing a triumphant smirk. I huffed and began to stare at the far wall.

I'd been here for an hour and 20 minutes…how long is this going to take?!

"Okay, I demand to see the doctor, now! As you can see, there is _no one else_ in this room, so obviously no one is waiting except for _me!_ Now let me _in!_" I glared at Ms. Cheyenne.

"Alright, then. All you had to do was ask," she said simply. I stared at her incredulously, what is _wrong_ with her?!

I walked down the hallway leading to a doctor's office. It could've just been me, but it sounded like my footsteps had an echo…not the type of echo that repeats 15 times, however. The type where if I take a step, I hear another step that someone took behind me. I whipped around, but saw nothing.

Entering the doctor's office, I saw the said doctor sitting at his desk, shuffling papers. I coughed in the doorway, causing his head to jerk upwards.

"Oh, hello, Miss. How may I help you?" he politely asked.

"My name is Claire Evans, and I wou-" I began, but the doctor interrupted me.

"Oh, my! Evans, you say? As in, the daughter of John and Carol Evans?"

"Uh, yes, those were my parents, but I rea-" I was cut off again.

"I am so sorry for your recent loss, you must feel so heartbroken. You lost your legal guardians; your padres; your foreldre; your emotional supporters, if that made sense; your guides through life; your…" he continued on and on, naming everything that my parents might have been to me. Nothing I said would get through to him.

"Um, hello? Hello?! Are you there? Are you going to stop talking? Earth to the doctor! Hello?" I waved my hand in front of his face, but he wouldn't stop. I guess this is pointless. I stood up to leave, but he stopped talking and called my name.

"Claire! Hold on a moment, did you need something?"

I smiled a bit. "Uh, yeah. I was wondering if you cou-" I was interrupted _again._

"Wait, I know what you're going to ask. I got this…you want me to…take an x-ray!"

"No."

"Oh, too bad. Then you want me to…give you a pregnancy test?"

"Uh…no!"

"Okay then…you want me to…give you a treatment for an almost incurable disease?"

Excited, I said, "Ye-"

"No, that's probably not it…then what do you want me to do? Ah, I'll get the nurse anyway to see if you can get an x-ray then. Who knows? You might even have a broken bone, and you don't know it!"

He walked out of the room as I slammed my head against the wall. That was the _strangest _doctor I've ever met. I snuck quietly out of the office, when I heard a voice say, "No luck, Claire?"

I groaned, turned around and said to the brunette behind me, "I thought I told you I wanted to go alone, Jill?"

"Now, _why_ would I listen to you?" Jill asked sarcastically.

--------

We were back on the boat, headed for home. After the first hospital, we went to check if any of the other hospitals would help us. No go, all of them were either shut down by health inspectors (figures), or the receptionists refused to help us. They were worse than Ms. Cheyenne.

I stood at the same place I had when going to the city, but this time, I was broken out of my trance by something different than last time.

"Ooh, Claire, look! There's a woman over there. Look at what she's carrying!" Jill exclaimed excitedly. I turned around to look at what the person was holding. I received a shock.

The woman was holding a tiny glass container with a tarantula inside. My eyes widened considerably and I stumbled a few paces back. I was forcibly reminded of something that happened a few weeks ago.

_Flashback_

_I've got to be careful. This urn is very valuable. If I drop and break this, my dad will have my head._

_I was holding an urn containing my grandmother's ashes. My parents had given it to me to take care of. The urn was big enough where I had to use both of my hands to carry it. If I put both of my hands around it…my fingers are still an inch apart from each other. Therefore, I have to use 2 hands._

_I walked slowly across the room, wanting to move this urn to my shelf. What happened on my way to the shelf wasn't what I was expecting. I felt something tickle my arm. I looked down. A black widow was crawling up and down my arm. _

_Oh, geez. What am I going to do?! I don't want the spider to bite me, but I also don't want to risk dropping this urn. All I could do was watch as the spider's tiny, but dangerous fangs sank into my skin._

_End Flashback_

I shivered as the memory coursed through my veins. That spider caused all this. That small, insignificant arachnid was the reason for all of my, and my friends and family's, suffering. The reason I was on this boat right now.

The reason I was going to die.

**Ooh, she couldn't get a treatment! That's bad. By the way, "foreldre" (what the doctor called Claire's parents) means "parents" in Norwegian. :)**

**So reviews are welcome(as always!)!**


	6. Dreams

**Hehe, sorry for the wait! Chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I is owning nothing!**

"Hey, Ann. Do you think that I should do something…I dunno…crazy? I only have 3 weeks of my life left, so what's the point of just sitting around doing nothing?" I asked Ann. She and I were outside, lying underneath the tree in my field. Ann turned her head to look at me.

"Maybe. What could you do though? You could…bungee jump, or battle ferocious wild dogs…or become a secret agent with a desire to control the whole world?"

"...Secret agent?" I said unsurely. "I don't think I want to do any of those things...so maybe something else?"

"Nope! You'll have to do one of those three…so I'll surprise you! I'll be back later," Ann got up to leave. "Okay?"

"Sure," To be honest, I was completely terrified of which of those choices Ann was going to pick. I guess I'll just have to wait to find out.

"Buh-bye, Claire!" Ann sprinted off my property. I glanced around my field, and immediately noticed weeds overflowing and dominating the whole farm. …Might as well do something to make the time pass.

I slowly, but surely, stood up and toddled over to where the weeds were most intimidating. I bent down, seized one of the little plants, and pulled. It came out of the ground with a small _pop_. I casually tossed the unimportant green object away, and bent down once again to haul another weed from the ground.

I worked for another 10 minutes before I began to feel weary. I wiped some sweat off my forehead and went back to my comfy, shaded spot under the tree. I stretched out on my back, with my arms behind my head, and drifted off to sleep.

_I stood in the middle of a great meadow, with luscious green grass and the most beautiful yellow, pink and red flowers anyone has ever seen. These roses, hibiscuses, and gardenias flowed gently in the wind. A sweet, enchanting aroma swept past me. I smiled gratefully, savoring the relaxing sensation building inside of me. I looked once more at the flowers, but this time, they were not cheerfully bright, but a dull gray color. _

_Lifeless. Dead. _

_I heard a low chuckle off to my left. I whipped toward the direction of the sound. There I saw Jack, smirking._

"_Happy to see me, sis?" he tauntingly asked. _

"_Seriously? I would be much happier jumping into a pit of spiders!" I spat. All Jack did was laugh. _

"_If that's what you want."_

_The ground supporting my feet started to tremble. I looked down. There was a crack forming in front of me. The crack gradually grew, getting longer, deeper, and wider. Once it was wide enough, I chanced a glance down the deep chasm. Little black spiders were crawling all over the place. They were being forced to crawl atop each other with the cramped space that was given to them. Shivers went up and down my back as my eyes widened. I wasn't at all serious about the whole spiders in a pit thing!_

_I looked back up at Jack, but he was gone. Bemused and slightly frightened, I turned around to leave. I stopped short, however, because Jack was standing behind me, preventing me from running away. He put his hands on each of my shoulders, and pushed me. I screamed as I fell down into the deep abyss._

I was jolted awake. I saw Ann hovering over me with a worried expression.

"Claire, were you having a nightmare?" she asked. I sat up.

"No," I lied. In truth, that was the worst nightmare I think I've ever had. Ann smiled.

"Good! Because I don't want anything to ruin our fun day today!" she exclaimed while pointing over to a pile of assorted equipment. These supplies included a long elastic rope, and when I say long I mean _long;_ a body harness; and 2 ankle harnesses. _Oh, no._

"And by fun, you mean _jumping off of cliffs?!_" I almost screamed. This is ridiculous! I'm not going to bungee jump off of the cliff and possibly kill myself!

"Yeah! Let's go!" Ann went over to the pile and picked up the huge, and possibly heavy, pile with complete ease.

"Claire! No! Don't do it!" I turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Cliff came running up to me, panting and out of breath.

"Don't do what?" I inquired with one of my eyebrows raised. I crossed my arms.

"Bungee jump!" he replied incredulously. I stared, long and hard at him. He was telling me what to do? What, is he my _mother?_ How does he even _know _about this?

"What gives you the power to order me around?" I demanded. Cliff looked pleadingly at me.

"_Please_ don't! You could die!" he answered. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm already going to die. You want me to sit around and wait for death to just come and take me? I can't have _any_ fun?" I retorted. I was never going to comply with Ann's wish of bungee jumping. But Cliff was making me _mad._

"That's not what I mean-" I cut him off.

"Good-_bye_, Cliff." I turned on my heel and stomped off towards Ann, who was already at the path leading up to the cliff.

---------

I should _really _have my brain examined. I think it's malfunctioning. What was I thinking, letting Ann convince me to jump off a cliff? Well, I sure don't know right now, standing at the top of a _very_ high and _very_ frightening cliff.

Ann had attached all of the harnesses required to jump to me. One body harness that straps around the chest. Another 2 ankle harnesses, one for each ankle, were attached. We had to decide to attach the elastic rope to the body harness or one of the ankles. We chose the body harness.

I peered over the edge, to find sharp rocks littering the bottom of this enormous rock I was standing on. If this elastic band breaks…I don't even want to imagine the outcome.

"Okay, Claire. On 3, you jump. One…two…" Ann started counting. I gulped. Should I just not jump? Or get it over with? What should I do? What shou- "THREE!"

I jumped. My hair whipped around my face, lashing out at different directions as I freefell. I started screaming, but the yell was drowned out by the sound of whooshing wind in my ear. My stomach made a big lurch. My wild hair continually beat my face, making my face become red.

After the initial shock, I started to…enjoy myself. Wow. I grinned, and closed my eyes. It felt as if I was flying. Flying through the endless sky, never stopping. But, as quickly as my euphoria came, it went as soon as the elastic rope reached its limit and sprung back, causing my eyes to open to a considerable degree, and me to fly upwards. My legs kicking wildly, and I tried to gain control of all my jerking limbs. I reclosed my eyes tightly, now wanting this death wish to be over. I felt a few more jerks and pulls, and felt the ground come in contact with my feet. I slowly cracked open my eyes to see Ann beaming at me.

"How was it?" she asked excitably.

"Never…again…" I stated simply. I unfastened the unbearable harnesses, handed them to Ann, and stalked off.

--------

**Cliff's POV**

Why won't she listen to me? She _knows_ that bungee jumping is extremely dangerous, and I told her not to do it. But…why do I care so much? If someone else was jumping, like Ann or Gray, I wouldn't bother to warn them. So, why Claire? Why is it always Claire I try to protect? Claire I try to keep safe?

I don't know. I just don't know.

"Cliff!" A voice called out behind me. "Could we talk for a moment please?"

"Why? Surely you have something much more important to do than talk to me," I replied quietly to Doctor.

"I have a task to assign to you." Doctor continued on, as if I hadn't spoken.

"Task? You need _me_ to do a task for _you?_"

"Yes, because, well, I heard about Claire's little moment of 'bravery' and 'daring'. I assume you know what I'm talking about?"

I nodded.

"I would like you to keep an eye on her for me. You know, to make sure she doesn't damage her health anymore than it is now."

"You mean, preventing her from doing anymore daredevil tricks?" I inquired.

"That is correct." Doctor verified. "Are you able to accept this assignment?"

I raised my eyebrow slightly at his interesting sentence. Really, 'accept this assignment'? Nevertheless, I 'accepted'.

**Review? Pretty please? :)**


	7. His Favorite Place

**Grr...so, so busy! How long has it been? 21 days? Sorry! Oh, and thank you for the reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 7**

I looked around at Cliff, who was silently gazing at the ground. I glared daggers at him, although unnoticed. I redirected my attention back to my axe that was lying uselessly at my feet. Grumbling, I picked the tool up and lifted it above my head, preparing to swing it back down onto the branch in front of me. Before I could do so, however, I felt some unknown force preventing me from using the axe. I glanced over my shoulder to see Cliff standing there, holding the handle of the tool.

"What are you doing? I need to work!" I said through gritted teeth. Cliff sighed and slid the axe from my grasp.

"I was told to not let you do anything to damage your health…" Cliff mumbled in reply. I groaned.

"But I still need to _work!_ Just because I went bungee jumping one time doesn't mean I can't be trusted anymore. And how will chopping up this little branch going to hurt my health?" I challenged. Cliff looked down at his feet.

"I-I don't know…can't you just do something else, please?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

I walked past Cliff and into my house, where I plopped down onto my couch and stared up at the ceiling. I heard the door open a few seconds later, but I didn't look towards it. A few seconds passed in silence and I couldn't take it anymore: I'm not very patient.

"I'm boooored!" I whined. Cliff looked at me with apathetic eyes.

"Then find something to do," he said simply.

"But there's nothing _to_ do!"

"Then make something up."

I stared at him, long and hard. "No."

"Yes."

"Like what?" I asked.

Cliff thought for a moment. "You could…watch a movie?"

"Boring."

"Uh…paint your nails?"

"Nah," I replied. I got up from my seat on the couch and went over to the kitchen. "Can you teach me how to cook?"

Cliff stifled a laugh. "I can't cook at all, though."

"Then we'll learn together!" I smiled. I started searching my cupboards for some sort of cookbook. Once I found one, I flipped through the pages for a simple, yet yummy recipe. I chose one, and Cliff curiously looked over my shoulder at it.

"Cake?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. I nodded excitedly. He took the cookbook and listed out the things we needed. "It says we need a mixing bowl, a 13 inch by 9 inch baking pan, 3 eggs, 1 ¼ cups of water, 1/3 cup of…what does that say? Cooling soil? Oh, cooking oil! Um…measuring spoons, cake mix, and toppings of your choosing. Got all that?"

"Yup!" I had taken out the necessary supplies as he was saying them. "What's the first step?"

He looked back at the book. "Pour the cake mix into the mixing bowl."

"Seems simple enough," I said absently as I tried to open the box of cake mix. I finally got it open, and saw that the cake mix was in a bag inside the box. "Do they _try _to make things complicated?!"

I grabbed two different sides of the bag and pulled, trying to get it to open. No luck.

"Could you help me?" I suggested to Cliff while pointing to the bag. He grabbed one side of the bag while I held the other side. "When I say 'go', pull. One…two…_three!_"

I pulled when I said three, I forgot to say go. The force of my pull caught Cliff off guard, causing both of us to go toppling over. I landed on my back, and Cliff landed right on top of me.

"Uhh…"

His face was bright red, and I'm sure mine was too.

"Could you, maybe…get off of me?" I asked him.

"O-Oh, r-r-right…" Cliff scrambled to his feet. I did the same, but I was calmer about it than Cliff.

I grabbed some scissors from a drawer and cut the bag open, then poured the cake mix into the bowl.

"S-So…what w-was the n-next step?" I attempted to gloss over the awkward moment. Cliff shakily looked at the next step.

"I-It s-says to p-p-put the eggs i-in the b-bowl…" he stammered. I snatched the eggs from the counter and placed them in the bowl. I took a deep breath to prevent myself from stuttering. "Then what?"

Cliff looked confused. "I-I think you're s-supposed t-to crack them f-first."

I glanced back at the bowl. I removed the eggs, now covered in cake mix, and squeezed them in my hand.

"Like this?" I put the squished eggs back into the bowl.

"…Yeah, I think so," Cliff confirmed. "Now you pour in 1 ¼ cups of water and 1/3 cups of cooking oil."

Inwardly relieved that Cliff had stopped stammering, I picked up the carefully measured water and cooking oil, and poured it right in the center of the bowl, causing a pool of liquid in the middle.

"Now you mix it. It says you can either use a mixer, or mix it by hand."

I glanced around my kitchen. "I don't think I have a mixer, so I'll do it by hand."

I stuck my hand into the bowl and moved it around, attempting to mix it. Cliff looked at me like I was crazy.

"You…_did_ wash your hands, right?" he asked shyly. I shot him a befuddled look.

"No, why? Should I have?" I replied.

"Have you ever cooked at _all?_ Even if you just make a sandwich or something easy like that, you're supposed to wash your hands so you don't get germs all over the food!"

My eyes widened in realization. "Oops…"

"Never mind," Cliff sighed. "Just…take this spoon and mix it with that."

He handed me a spoon, which I took with my food-covered hand. After a few minutes of mixing and blending, we thought it was mixed well enough to go to the next step.

"Pour the mix into the pan," Cliff read from the book. I complied, lifting up the bowl and tipping it ever so slightly. A tiny trail of mix leaked out of the bowl and into the pan. I hummed a catchy tune while pouring it.

I heard Cliff sigh from behind me, and he took the bowl from me, tilting it farther until it was a big puddle of mix in the pan.

Cliff read again from the booklet. "Put in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes."

I turned the temperature knob on the oven to 350, and set the pan inside.

"Uh…I don't have a timer or anything, so we'll just have to watch the clock," I told Cliff.

He nodded, then went over to my couch and sat down. I followed suit, and when I sat down, I saw Cliff move a little farther away from me. Now we were on opposite sides of the couch. I tried to ignore this fact and picked up a book that I had started reading the day before.

Two chapters into my book, I heard a knock at the door. I stood up from my comfy position on the couch and ambled over to the door. Opening it just a bit, I saw Jack standing there, his hands stuffed casually in his jean pockets.

"_What?"_ I hissed at him. He tried to morph his facial expression from an arrogant expression to a worried one.

"Hey, I heard that you…bungee jumped? Is that true? You have no idea how worried I was when I found out, sis!" He told me urgently. Sure he _sounded_ worried, but it looked like he was trying extremely hard not to roll his eyes.

"Oh, you were _worried?_ I am so sorry that I caused you the trouble of thinking of me and my well-being! Next time I'll try to keep it secret so you don't get any worry lines," I snapped, my voice filled with sarcasm.

Jack tried to look affronted. "What's with all the sarcasm?"

With that, I slammed the door in his face.

I turned around and saw Cliff in a half-way standing, half-way sitting position. Apparently he was about to come over to see what was going on. He got up into a fully standing position.

"Claire? Do you…um, would you…uh…can we talk?"

"Sure," I walked back over to the couch and motioned for him to sit next to me. He reluctantly did so.

"I'm sorry, but this is really bothering me… Why…uh, what happened between…you and Jack?" he worded his sentence carefully, as though scared I would lash out and attack him if he said something offensive or insulting. I sighed, knowing that this subject would come up sooner or later.

"It's a long story…are you sure you want to listen?" Cliff nodded in reply. "Okay, well…it all started when I was 7 years old and Jack was 11…

_Flashback_

"_Jack? Where are we going?" I asked him. We were going down a road I hadn't ever seen nor noticed before. Some of Jack's friends were tagging along and were making jokes and laughing._

"_We're going to my favorite place in the whole world. I wanted to show you!" Jack enthusiastically replied. _

_We continued walking down the old beat-up path and the scenery changed from peaceful and serene to dark and forbidding. We were in a forest._

"_J-Jack…I don't want to go any farther…I'm scared…" I mumbled. Jack looked at me with stern eyes._

"_You're going to come with me and you're going to like it!" he practically yelled in my face. The boys behind us snickered._

_After about twenty minutes of tiresome walking, Jack stopped and looked down at me. _

"_Before we go into my favorite place, I have to tell you that only one person can enter at a time, so I'll let you go first, as an honorary guest. When you're done, just come back out, and then we'll go back home and bake some cookies, 'kay?" Jack offered to me. It sounded like a good deal, so I agreed. _

_I took a step forward to where Jack told me to go. I looked over my shoulder. Jack and his friends were urging me to go on with big hand motions and mouthing the words 'Go on!', 'We'll be right here with you!', and 'There's nothing to be scared of!'._

_I looked towards my destination once again, and went on through some trees and bushes. I got a few scratches on my arms and legs, but figured Mom could put band-aids on them when we got home._

_As soon as I was through all of the shrubbery, I saw a clearing ahead of me. Is this Jack's favorite place? It's just an open piece of land with random trees and sticks… I turned straight around and back through the bushes. As I got through, I got a particularly painful stab from a rose bush, and I gasped. But the stab wasn't the cause of my gasp. No, the reason was that Jack and his friends were _gone.

_Could I have gone the wrong way? Through the wrong side of the clearing? Not likely, since I turned right around, and I didn't walk into the clearing at all, but I had to check anyway._

_I quickly ran back through the bushes, across the clearing, and back through some more bushes, and concluded that Jack was nowhere to be found. So I did what any 7 year old girl would do. _

_I sat down on the ground and cried._

_I eventually fell asleep from sobbing so much. At first when I woke up, I didn't remember anything. I looked around at my surroundings, taking everything in. After I had realized the predicament I was in, I figured that I should go find something to eat, which isn't as easy as it sounds._

_I searched around the area for a few minutes and came across a fruit-bearing tree. Fortunately, it was a short tree so I was able to reach the food on it. Unfortunately, there was a pack of wild dogs sleeping at the base of the tree, preventing me from getting closer. I tried to approach anyway, because at that time my stomach made a loud growl. I was too hungry not to attempt to get the delicious and ripe-looking fruit._

_Watching my steps carefully, I advanced toward the tree. When I was as close as I could be to the tree, I silently cheered in excitement and jumped up to grab the fruit. Sure, the branch holding the fruit was low, but it was still just out of my reach, I was only able to touch the branch if I jumped. But, in my excited jump, I accidentally stepped on one of the dogs' tails. I didn't notice until I heard a low snarl. I glanced down at the dogs, and saw one of them with shining red eyes staring back at me with its teeth bared._

_I ran._

_I ran as fast as my body would allow, and that wasn't even enough. The dog, now joined by the rest of his pack, was right on my heels. They began biting at my feet, and I shrieked. My heels were now dripping with blood as I turned a sharp corner as an attempt to escape the dogs. The dogs, slightly confused at first, caught back up to me quickly. Using the same turn-a-sharp-corner-quickly method multiple times, I was finally far enough ahead of them to have enough time to climb up a tree or a high rock. Luckily, I saw a rock perfectly fitting that description right ahead of me. _

_I placed my foot in a crevice of the rock, and pulled myself up on top, which I barely had enough strength to do. Panting, I looked down at the ground. The dogs were circling the rock very slowly. I could hear them growling lightly, as if warning me that if I were to come down, they would rip me to shreds. I shuddered at the thought._

_---_

_Three days had passed since the dog incident. I managed to find a dog-free place that had plenty of food for me to eat and a comfy spot to sleep without fear of attack._

"_Claire? Claire?!" A familiar voice was screaming. "Are you there? Please answer me!"_

_My eyes widened as I figured out to whom the voice belonged to._

"_Mommy! Mommy, I'm over here!" I tried to get her attention. I smiled gratefully when I saw my mother through the trees, trying desperately to find me. I sprinted over to her and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. It was when the hug ended when I noticed the company my mom was with._

_My dad, Jill, Jack, and two police officers were grouped around us. My dad looked exhausted, Jill's face was shining with tears, and Jack looked bored. I looked back up at my mom._

"_How did you find me?" I asked with my head slightly tilted._

"_Well, Honey, Jack said that he saw you walk into the forest all by yourself. He tried to follow you, but you were walking too fast and he lost you. He immediately told your father and I what happened, and we hired a search team to find you," she answered. "If it wasn't for Jack, we wouldn't be here right now. I say he should get a special reward for it."_

_My jaw dropped open._

"_And you, young lady, are going to be punished," my mom continued, her tone suddenly changing. "What were you thinking, walking into a forest?!"_

_I stayed silent with my mouth open. She was blaming me for this? I can't believe it!_

_My mom grabbed my hand forcefully and pulled me along and out of the forest._

_End Flashback_

Cliff was silent for a while. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Is that…true?"

"Of course it's true! Why would I lie?" I said. Cliff looked slightly ashamed of himself.

"I'm…sorry…" he apologized. I shook my head.

"It's fine. Hey," I sniffed the air. "Do you smell something burning?"

**I would love to hear any comments from you! So...Review!!! :D**


	8. Forbidden

**Ok, I'm sure by now, all of you hate me because I only update once every 2 weeks...but I have a good excuse! I am busy. Well, maybe it's not the best excuse, but oh well. And thank you for the reviews! You guys are awesome! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

**Enjoy!**

A week had passed since I had told Cliff the history behind Jack and me. The cake we had _attempted _to bake was a complete disaster. Once I had smelled the burning cake, I noticed that it had actually caught on fire. Naturally, Cliff had no idea what to do, so I called Mary to come over to help us. But that's an understatement. Actually, I sprinted as fast as I could to the library, and sprinted back with Mary in tow, and if I remember correctly, I was running so fast that Mary's feet didn't even touch the ground. She's not much of a runner. I would have gone to get Ann, who lives closer, but she probably would have made the fire worse.

Well, to sum it all up, I had dragged Mary back to my house, and she oh-so-conveniently found the fire extinguisher that was hidden in the dark recesses of my closet.

Since then, Cliff had kept a careful watch over me, ensuring my safety. Like keeping me away from the oven, for example. I was beginning to get sick of it. The only time I had to myself was in the morning, when I change clothes, and at night, when I take a shower and change into pajamas. Any other time, like when I farm, cook, pet my animals, or even brush my teeth, he was standing over me. It was annoying.

Today I was sitting on the couch watching a movie, when I heard a knock at the door. _Who could that be?_ I thought to myself. I paused the movie and opened the door to reveal Karen, looking irritated. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Karen burst through the door and sat down at the table in the middle of the room without a word.

"Um…I don't mean to be rude, but…why are you here?" I questioned. Karen and I aren't the best of friends, so this visit is kind of unexpected.

Karen crossed her arms. "Because your sister wanted me to come get you. She said she couldn't come herself because she, and I quote, 'can't leave it alone, or it'll be taken back', whatever _that_ means."

"So I have to go to the Inn?"

"Yeah, and she said to come without Cliff, because he isn't supposed to see it. Don't ask me what _it_ is, 'cause I don't know," Karen answered uninterestedly.

"Well, then, I have a problem…Cliff won't leave me alone for a second…the only reason he's not here right now is because he's taking care of my animals," I said miserably. Karen's eyes suddenly had a mischievous gleam in them. I took a step back.

"I think I can help you there, Claire," she proclaimed.

--------

**Cliff's POV**

_Man, I'm glad that's over with. I don't know how Claire can do this much work every day! _I thought. I stepped out of the animal barn and saw Karen walking out of the house with a small smile on her face. Intrigued, I went inside to check on Claire. I saw her sitting at the table with a plate of food. She held a fork limply in her hand, and she had a look of disgust on her face.

As soon as she saw that I was there, she stood up and gave me the plate of food.

"Cliff…Karen just came by with this plate of curry rice, but I'm not so sure I want to eat it…I've never been too fond of curry rice. I know you like it, seeing as how I've given you some before, and you seemed to like it. So…here you go."

I hesitated. "A-Are you sure? You could…give it to Ann, or someone."

Claire shook her head and shoved the plate into my hands. "No, you deserve to eat, anyway. You just worked on the farm, and it looks like you're very tired. You need to eat!"

"Okay…" I took the plate slowly and sat down at the table to eat it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Claire watching me nervously. Although it was kind of strange for her to be acting nervous right now, I chose to ignore her as I dug into my food.

I savored the flavor, then everything went black.

--------

"Uhh…" I moaned quietly. I sat up slowly, and put a hand up to my head. "Where am I?"

I looked around, finally my brain started working again and I registered that I was lying on Claire's couch. Something was missing…but what? Then it clicked; where's Claire? I shot up from the couch and dashed outside, but all I saw was her crops swaying gently in the wind, and her many animals grazing happily. I searched high and low for her. In her chicken coop, animal barn, and stable. I even checked the stream running along the edge of her farm, but nothing. I couldn't find her anywhere, so I thought that I should check the town.

The first place I thought of looking was the beach, because of something she had said a few days ago.

"_Can we go swimming, Cliff? It's very hot today… please? We could go on a picnic there, or something?" _she had suggested, but I turned her down, just like every other one of her ideas.

I arrived at the beach, but there was only Popuri there, sitting at the end of the dock, probably longing for Kai to come back sooner. I turned on my heels and left. Where to next?

"_Hey! I have an idea! And it's completely safe. We could go to the library and read! How dangerous could that be?" _Claire had asked. I told her that one of the bookshelves in the library could fall on top of her and she'd break her neck.

I rushed to the library and almost ripped off the door when opening it. Mary looked up interestedly.

"May I help you?" she asked sweetly. I decided that I probably wouldn't find Claire without _some _sort of help.

"Um…y-yeah…do you know where Claire is?"

Mary put a finger on her chin, which she always does when she thinks. Maybe it's an unconscious habit?

"Well, I did see her and Jill run past about ten minutes ago…I think they went that way," Mary answered while pointing towards where she said Claire had went.

I thanked her and ran out the door. I sprinted past several buildings, all being just blurs of brown, gray, and red. I halted when I saw Gray standing on the side of the road.

"Hey, Gray!" I got his attention. "Have you seen Claire or Jill recently?"

Gray nodded slightly. "Um, yeah…I think I saw both of them heading towards the forest."

The forest?

"Thanks," I said breathlessly as I started running once more in the direction of the forest.

I stopped as I reached the forest, but I didn't see Claire or Jill until I came up to where Gotz's house was. My eyes widened and my face paled. What is _with_ Claire and daredevil tricks?!

Jill and Gotz were standing next to a very large tree that had been cut down and propped up onto another tree. And when I say very large tree, I mean a _very, very _large tree. The two trees made what looked like a really big triangle made of two trees and the ground. But that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was that Claire was on the slanted tree on a _motorcycle._ The good part of this? She's wearing a helmet, thank goodness.

"C'mon, Claire! Just like old times!" Jill chanted. Claire revved up the engine.

"Claire! No!" I yelled, but I was too late, Claire was already speeding up the tree. What was she planning on doing when she reached the top?!

I watched in horror as she got closer and closer to the apex of the tree triangle. Claire leaned back slightly and the front wheel went up into the air, not a lot, but enough to scare me half to death.

Claire was getting dangerously close to the top. She was still doing a wheelie when she reached the peak of the trees, and she pulled the front wheel up even farther. She spun the bike around 180 degrees, and put the front wheel back down on the tree, but something went wrong. The wheel didn't land on the tree, but just to the right of the trunk of the tree. The bike flipped forward, flinging Claire off the seat. Her scream pierced my ears as she fell. It was torture. I started running forward to try to catch her, but someone beat me to it.

"Would someone care to explain?"

I froze in my tracks, staring at Doctor, who had a trembling Claire in his arms. His glare was frightening enough to scare a lion. I shrunk back.

"I-I-I h-had nothing t-to d-d-do with this! I-I had a-arrived just a-as she was g-g-going u-up the tree…" My sentence trailed off feebly as Doctor's glare deepened. He set Claire down on the ground. Jill rushed over and hugged her, trying to comfort her.

"Well…I can see that I was wrong to trust her with you. I'm afraid that I'll have to ask someone else to watch over her," Doctor declared. "And I forbid you to visit her anymore. She is not safe in your presence."

My face fell a considerable amount. His words cut through me like a knife. I can't see Claire anymore? Ever?

"I am also," continued Doctor. "going to assign someone else the obligation of watching over Claire."

I looked at Claire, hoping she would object, hoping she would defend me. But all she did was stare at the ground. I saw her eyes glance up at me. Her eyes were filled with guilt, and they started to tear up. She closed her eyes, hoping I didn't see. But I did.

"C-Claire…" I began. She shook her head and turned away. She clung to Jill, who was holding her protectively.

"I suggest that you leave now, Cliff. You've done enough harm today. From now on, stay away from Claire, or you will suffer severe punishment," Doctor threatened. I nodded shakily, and left.

--------

**Claire's POV**

I would never see Cliff again…was I happy? Yes. Was I sad? Yes.

The bright side of this was that Cliff wouldn't be standing over my shoulder every minute of the day anymore. But the look on his face when the Doctor told him he was forbidden to see me was agony; I couldn't bear to look at it. So when Cliff looked at me for help, I couldn't meet his eyes. And when I did, my eyes filled with tears, just like I expected them to.

I was told to come to the Clinic the next day, so Doctor could tell me who was going to watch over me. So I was dreading tomorrow for two reasons. One: A new person, whose identity is for now unknown, would start looking after me, and two: I would never see Cliff again.

Kill me now.

**Claire is quite the daredevil isn't she? XD Are you wondering who is going to be Claire's new "body gaurd"? You'll have to wait to see! And I promise that Chapter 9 will be up quick! (At least I hope...) So...Review!**


	9. Casper and Murphy

**You are going to haaaaate me. :) Oh well, its important for the story! So yeah, Chapter 9! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Rick. Rick? Seriously, Rick?!

Rick is going to watch over me from now on? How random is that? I've spoken to him maybe one time in my whole life, and it was only when I first met him.

"_Hey, I'm Claire!"_

"_Oh, hello. My name is Rick. Nice to meet you."_

That's it. The only words I've ever said to him, and the only words he's ever said to me.

I stared at Doctor in horror. I switched my gaze to Rick, then back to Doctor.

"This…is a joke, right? You can't be serious! Can't I just have Cliff watch over me? Or better, no one?" I pleaded.

Doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry Claire, but it'll have to be Rick. He is the most responsible young adult in this town, besides Mary, Elli, and I. But unfortunately, I am too busy, as is Elli, and Mary is one of your friends, and I now know what you do for fun when with your friends. Cliff is forbidden to see you, and I will not allow you to roam around by yourself. You've been in too many dangerous situations for me to trust you," He turned to Rick. "You are to watch Claire from now on to prevent her from doing anything dangerous, you understand?"

Rick nodded. By the looks of his face, he wasn't too excited about this either.

"Good. Now, I want updates from you, Rick. If she does anything she's not supposed to, report it to me. I refuse to allow Claire hurt herself anymore."

And with that, Doctor left Rick and me in the room alone. I turned uneasily towards Rick, and muttered, "Uh…let's go then…"

-------

**Rick's POV**

I can't believe I was dragged into this. I could be tending to my chickens right now, but _no…_ I have to _watch over Claire._ This is so stupid. I honestly think Doctor is overreacting over this whole ordeal. Does he think Claire is incapable of taking care of herself? So what if she did a few tricks? I'm sure anyone would if they knew they were going to die soon. Doesn't everyone always say "Live life to the fullest"?

I looked up at Claire, who was walking sulkily in front of me. I figured I should at least try to cheer her up.

"Hey, are you excited about tomorrow?" I asked quietly, half hoping she wouldn't hear me.

Her head whipped around as an expression of surprise crossed her face, as though she wasn't expecting me to talk at all. "T-Tomorrow? What's going on tomorrow?"

Well, I don't blame her not remembering the festival tomorrow. Her life has just been through a dramatic turn of events. Who _would_ remember a silly festival?

"The Fall Horse Races, of course. We're gonna go, aren't we? Unless you don't want to…" My sentence faltered.

"Sure, we can go! I love horses! I bet if I raced my horse, I could win, but…" Claire put a mock-scowl on her face. "It's too dangerous because the horse might jump in the water and then I would drown."

I laughed at Claire's pathetic attempt at an imitation of Doctor.

"You might want to work on that imitation," I recommended. Claire rolled her eyes and continued walking towards her farm. We were there within a matter of minutes.

"Wow…" I breathed. Her farm was huge! I had never really been on her farm before, I've only passed by. But now that I'm actually here, I can see how much work she's put into it.

**Claire's POV**

"Wow…" I heard Rick whisper.

I smiled inwardly, pleased that someone actually appreciated my hard work. Everyone else who had come here just said things along the lines of "It's okay…" or "Could use some work".

I walked over to the tree that had so many times provided me with apples. I looked up into its tall branches and saw a bright, shiny, red apple hanging there innocently. I wondered slightly if it was worth it to climb up the tree to get the apple.

I glanced back over at Rick. He was still gazing at my field, so it wouldn't hurt to just climb up the tree and back down. I'd have the apple before he even noticed I had climbed the tree to get it.

I silently hauled myself up to the branch with the fruit. I plucked the apple off the branch, but got startled when I heard Rick call my name.

"Eek!" I slipped off of the branch I was sitting on landed on the ground. It wasn't much of a fall, but as I fell, I accidentally kicked the bee's nest that lives in the tree. Oops. I forgot about the bees.

I screamed as I ran to my house. Rick, dumbfounded, just stood there. I groaned and I grabbed his arm and dragged him with me. In the safety of my home, I peeked out the window. I saw a swarm of bees chasing us, though we were already inside.

"What…was _that_ all about?" Rick asked from behind me. I turned to face him.

"Well, you see…I kind of…kicked the bee's nest…and, yeah…" I mumbled. Rick shook his head incredulously.

"I really don't want to know…"

"Ooh, but look! I got an apple!" I showed Rick my prize, a wide grin on my face.

--------

**The Next Day – At the Horse Races**

I slammed 500G on the betting table in front of Thomas.

"I'm betting it all on Casper," I stated boldly.

"Claire…are you sure you want to bet on Casper?" Rick asked me. "He has the smallest odds out of all of the horses! Look at this, he has a _1 in 30 chance._ He's not going to win! Why don't you bet on Murphy?"

Murphy was the horse with the highest likelihood of winning. I knew that, of course, it said so on the paper on the betting table. Murphy had a 1 in 5 chance. While Casper, like Rick had said, had a 1 in 30 chance. The other horses, Liberty and Summer, both had a 1 in 15 chance. But I didn't care, I had faith in Casper.

"Because, Rick, I want to bet on Casper, not Murphy. That's why."

"Well, then you're stupid."

"Are you calling me _stupid?!_" I demanded angrily.

"That's what I said, so I am obviously calling you stupid." Rick retorted blandly.

"You are so…so…mean!" I yelled at him.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but the race is about to start, so please finish placing your bets!" Thomas announced into a megaphone, but Rick and I didn't hear him.

"You deserve being called stupid for betting on Casper!"

"If anyone is stupid here, it's you!"

"And, they're off! Murphy immediately takes the lead, Liberty in second, and Summer and Casper are tied for last! Who will win, folks?" The megaphone blared.

"If you're so smart, then go bet on Murphy instead!" Rick demanded.

"They probably won't take anymore bets, stupid! They're probably about to start the races soon anyway!"

"Ooh, what's this? Casper is catching up with Murphy! This is great! Will Casper win?" Thomas shouted.

"Why don't you go check then? You can't be sure of what you don't know! Go see if you can change your bet!" Rick insisted. I crossed my arms and turned away from him.

"I bet Cliff would let me bet on Casper."

"They're coming up to the finish line! Who's gonna win? Who's gonna win?! And…Casper won! I can't believe it! Casper actually won!" Thomas jumped up and down in his excitement.

Rick was silent for a moment, but that was long enough for me to turn around and see his expression. He looked hurt, shocked, and slightly guilty. He quickly regained his composure, though.

"Fine, then. Bet on Casper. But don't come crying to me when you lose all that money you gambled away." Rick said with a straight face.

Thomas chose this moment to come up to us.

"Congratulations, Claire! Casper won, so you get 300 metals!" Thomas told me gleefully. I smiled and accepted the prize gracefully. Thomas walked away.

"So…" Rick started.

"Don't," I said simply. "Just forget it. Let's put it behind us, okay?"

"Good idea."

**Hope you liked it! Please review! I will try even harder to get the next chapter up quicker! I tried to get this one up within a week, but I ended up posting it 2 weeks later...again. Wait a second...did that make sense? XD My friend gave me a whole bunch of great ideas, so I am really excited about the next chapter! :)**


	10. Deja Vu

**Quick update! :D (kind of...well, quicker than normal...) Annnnddddd...thank you for your reviews! :D**

***Looks back at last chapter* Oh, you're right, .xXRuthieCutieXx. , it should be medals. o.O My bad. Now how do I change it? x.x Geez, I feel stupid.**

**Yes, I know, I chose Rick. I _would_ have chosen Gray, but there were two things against me: 1) I have trouble capturing Gray's personality. Whenever I try, he's either too happy or emo. -.- and 2) It's important for the story! And trust me, you'll be happy I didn't choose Gray...eventually. :)**

**Still no Cliff in this chapter, but this is a very important chapter! There will be plenty of Cliff next chapter! :D (wow, I just realized that I said chapter 3 times in a row...)**

**Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is not, and never will be, owned by me.**

"Claire! Claire, Claire, _Claire_!" Ann screamed as she ran up to me, yanking on my arm forcefully.

"Ow! Ann, would you mind _not_ dislocating my shoulder?"

"Claire! This is serious! Something has happened! You need to come with me _right now!_" Ann begged.

I pulled my arm out of reach of her, and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "This isn't one of your pranks, is it?"

"No! I need you to come with me! I need you to help me!" Ann was close to tears now. This was completely unlike her. What was wrong?

"Ann, calm down, and tell me what happened," I said in a low, calm voice. But Ann didn't calm down, if anything she got more anxious.

"Claire! Come on! We can't wait any longer! We have to help him!" Ann wailed.

"Who's "him"? Ann! Tell me! What's going on? Who are you talking about? What happened?"

"He's in the forest! The forest! And wild dogs, there were wild dogs there! He could be eaten! We have to hurry! Claire, _please!"_ Ann explained to me. She started sobbing, sputtering out random, incoherent words.

"_Who is he, Ann?" _I demanded, making her look me straight in the eye.

"Jack!"

My jaw dropped open as I stared at her, completely confused. She was worried about Jack? Since when?

"Jack? Seriously? You want me to help _Jack?_ Why should I? He wouldn't help me if I was in trouble!" I defended.

"Claire! Please, I'm begging you! He could die! Forget your past for just right now, forget all of your prejudices! We need to save him!" Ann cried. "_Please!"_

Why was she so worried about him? I turned around to look at Rick, who was silently listening in on the conversation. He shrugged, which made me sigh in frustration.

"Fine, we'll go," I said reluctantly. Ann brightened up an infinitesimal amount, but it was enough to tell she was happy that I decided to help Jack. "But afterwards, you have some questions to answer."

Ann nodded. "Of course! Of course! Now let's go!"

Ann, Rick, and I ran out of the farm, and into the forest. Ann lead us to a deeper part of the woods, causing me to wonder why they were in this far. Hopefully Ann knew where she was going…

I looked around at the trees and felt a funny sense of déjà vu.

We were walking for a good 15 minutes before we stopped. What we saw was not pretty. Jack was lying on the ground, moaning. His face and hands were covered in blood, and his shirt had blood smears on it along with some holes in the fabric. By the looks of him, he was just barely hanging on to consciousness. I suddenly felt a wave of guilt pass over me. When I was stranded in the forest when I was younger, I had gotten away from the wild dogs, so what had made Jack unlucky enough to not get away? Why was it me that got the lucky break, and not Jack?

Ann and Rick gasped and ran over to him, while I stayed rooted to the spot, watching in horror. Something inside me was preventing me from getting any closer. Not because I was revolted, though. It was something else, but what it was, I didn't know.

I watched as Ann and Rick tried in vain to pick Jack up. Ann looked at me for help. Her eyes were pleading.

"Claire…" she whispered. "Please, I don't care if you hate Jack, I don't care if you never forgive him, just help us save him. Just this once. I'm not asking for anything else, so, please, Claire…"

That tiny wave of guilt that I had felt grew into a large wave, which somehow got me to move my feet and help Ann, Rick, and Jack.

"Geez, how heavy can he be?" Rick groaned under Jack's weight. Ann, Rick and I had agreed that we would all carry Jack together to the Clinic, so his weight would be evenly divided between us. Apparently Rick was a weakling.

"Would you shut_ up_ for just one minute? You've been complaining for 10 minutes!" Ann yelled at Rick, she was _not _in a good mood. Needless to say, Rick clamped his mouth shut for the rest of the way.

After another agonizing 15 minutes, we had arrived at the Clinic, home of the evil Doctor. I pushed the door open, and all four of us stumbled into the air-conditioned building.

"May I help you?" Elli began sweetly, looking up from her papers she was filing. "Oh my! What happened? Doctor! We have an emergency!"

Doctor rushed out of his office at this call. He managed to get Jack from our arms to the hospital bed in a matter of 5 seconds. He shooed us out of the room, and into the waiting room.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ann whimpered. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…about that…why are you so worried about him?" I asked her. Ann avoided my eyes.

"Well, you know…I worry a lot. I don't like it when people are hurt…" Ann said.

"Ann, I know you're lying. Tell the truth," I demanded. Ann moved her mouth, but no sound came out.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. What was that?" I told her.

Ann took a big breath. "I said-"

But Ann was cut off by Doctor, who came in the waiting room to tell us how Jack was doing.

"Jack is just fine. I attached him to an IV and he is conscious. I will allow you to visit him one at a time," Doctor announced. He stepped back into his office.

"Soo…who's going first?" I started. Rick and Ann exchanged a look and pushed me towards the door to the room Jack was in.

"You are. You need to make amends with him," Ann ordered.

"What?! No way! You can't make me!" I protested, but they prevented me from getting away. I sighed, giving in.

I went into the room, trembling slightly. I saw Jack lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling lazily. He looked over at me when I entered. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What are you doing here? If I remember correctly, you said you hated me," Jack hissed. I cowered under his angry gaze.

"I…um, wanted to…uh…make sure you were okay?" I made it sound like a question, something I didn't mean to do.

"Oh really," Jack scoffed. "Well, I'm okay, so you can leave now."

But I didn't leave. I don't know why, but I stayed where I was. Jack sent me a confused look, which quickly turned back into his angry expression.

"Why are you still here?" He demanded. I opened my mouth to speak, and the words tumbled out of my mouth. I had no control over what I was saying.

"I'm really sorry, Jack. I shouldn't have held that grudge against you," I babbled. "I still don't know what had made you decide to leave me in the forest, but I should have known you have changed since then."

Jack raised both of his eyebrows in astonishment. "Are you…serious?"

I nodded, and looked down at my feet.

"Actually…I have a confession…" Jack began. I looked up at him expectantly. "The only reason I left you in the forest was because…well, my friends dared me to. I knew if I didn't do what they said they would either stop being my friends or beat me up. You have no idea how scared I was…So I did as they said. When we left you in the forest…I immediately felt guilty. I tried to go in after you, but I couldn't find you. You weren't where we left you. So I went back home."

I listened raptly to his story, surprised that this was what really happened.

"I tried to tell Mom and Dad, but they said that you told them you were over at your friend's house that night. They wouldn't believe me when I said that you were missing. The next day when you didn't come home from the sleepover, they started worrying. I tried to explain to them what happened. They still wouldn't listen. They eventually called the police," He continued. "My friends thought this was hilarious. I didn't think it would go this far…but it did. After a lot of persistence, the police finally listened to my story. I told them that you had gone into the forest. I thought I would get in huge trouble if I told the truth."

I couldn't believe it…Jack was worried about me? He never meant for that to happen? How could I be so cruel? I never gave him one chance to explain himself…I just ignored or yelled at him. I feel horrible now.

"Of course Mom believed my story when I told it to the officer, so she punished you instead of me when we found you. I felt bad about it, but at the time I was still selfish. I didn't want to get punished, so I kept my mouth shut," Jack finished. He wasn't looking at me anymore, but at the wall across the room. I felt tears fill my eyes.

Without realizing what I was doing, I ran over to him and gave him a hug. I cried into his shirt, saying sorry over and over again. Jack awkwardly patted my head. I lifted my head up to look at him.

"I just have one question," I said. "Why did you act the way you did when you came here? Why did you act so cocky and arrogant?"

Jack grimaced. "I honestly don't think you would've listened to me no matter how I acted, so I acted the way that was natural for me. I'm sorry that I acted that way, and I'm also really sorry for ever letting my friends tell me what to do. Will you forgive me, Claire?"

I smiled and wiped my tear stained face with the back of my hand.

"Yes, I forgive you, Jack."

**Aww! How sweet! :D So, tell me what you think in your review! Comments, critiques, advice, blah blah blah... You get the picture. :)**


	11. Friends? Or not?

**I am so so sorry! I've been extremely busy with school, homework, band, babysitting, etc. AND it didn't help that when I had time to write, I had writer's block :(  
So, here is chapter 11! :D By the way, there are several POV changes, so don't get confused ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not, would not, should not, and cannot own Harvest Moon.**

**No one's POV**

The two men stepped off the boat. One of them looked confused, the other confident. Both of them were wearing black suits. The confused one was also sporting a purple tie, while the confident man was wearing a white tie.

"Are you sure this is the place?" the confused man asked. The other man turned his head towards him.

"Yes, I am quite sure, Mr. Hall," the man wearing the white tie confirmed. Mr. Hall didn't look convinced.

"Well, sir, this doesn't look anything like the description…" Mr. Hall trailed off.

"I am certain this is the place."

Mr. Hall walked off of the dock and towards the two buildings on the beach. He looked at the sign next to them. "Welcome to Mineral Town…"

Mr. Hall glanced up at his co-worker. "Mineral Town isn't the name of the place we're supposed to be at, Mr. Peterson."

Mr. Peterson came over to where Mr. Hall was examining the sign. He looked at the sign, and then pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He unfolded the paper and read off of it, "The town is called 'Minirol Town'."

Mr. Peterson looked again at the sign. "Simple, someone misspelled Minirol."

He put the paper back in his pocket and walked across the beach, inspecting everything. Mr. Hall didn't move, though, he stayed where he was.

"Are you sure?"

Mr. Peterson rolled his eyes and uttered an inaudible growl. "Yes, now stop asking! Come along, we must find the mayor of this town. He will inform us of where to go."

Mr. Hall complied. The men strode towards the stairs leading out of the beach. It wasn't long until they met one of the Mineral Town inhabitants. As they were passing the Inn, Cliff just happened to be leaving the building. Mr. Peterson was the first to notice.

"Hello, sir. May I ask where the mayor is?" Mr. Peterson put on a fake smile. Cliff glanced up at the men.

"He's p-probably at his h-house," Cliff answered very quietly. Mr. Hall, a very sympathetic man, noticed his quietness.

"Hey…is there something wrong? You seem…down," Mr. Hall said soothingly. Cliff raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Who's a-asking?"

"I am Mr. Hall, and this is Mr. Peterson, and we are the heads of the Moon and Stars Theatrics Company. Pleased to meet you…" Mr. Hall trailed off, patiently waiting for Cliff's name with his hand stretched out.

"Cliff," Cliff told him, but he didn't shake Mr. Hall's hand. Instead, he turned away, and started walking down the road.

"Hey! Come on, tell us what's wrong, we won't bite!" Mr. Hall yelled. Cliff just glared at Mr. Hall, and kept walking.

"Mr. Hall, come along, we need to speak to the mayor."

**Cliff's POV**

Those guys, they seemed kind of shady… up to no good, no doubt. What was up with that Hall guy? And why was he prying so much into my personal life? It's none of his business what my problem is. Now don't get me wrong, I am perfectly fine, and happy, and-

Okay, scratch that. I'm _miserable._

And why wouldn't I be? I've practically lost my best friend, who is expected to die in about 10 days, and everyone hates me. Everyone is blaming _me _for Claire almost killing herself on that motorcycle. Blaming _me_ for her bungee jumping. And blaming _me _for her getting sick in the first place. _How_ they connect me and the illness, I'll never know. But they did.

Submerged in my thoughts, I didn't notice that I had walked straight into the Town Square. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but today happened to be the sheep festival. Little did I know that things were about to get pretty dramatic.

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**Claire's POV**

Why couldn't they hurry up? It doesn't take that long to figure out the winner of the sheep festival! I sure hope my sheep wins. I was standing next to Ann, who didn't seem that interested. To calm me down I decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, Ann…about Jack-" I was cut off.

"Nope," Ann denied.

"But what about-"

"Nope."

"Well, I know that-"

"Nope."

"Would you stop that?!" I demanded.

"Nope."

I growled as I turned away from her. "It's not a crime to like someone, you know…"

Ann's silence was as good as a confession. I glanced toward her to see that her face had gone bright red, and she looked as if she'd like to murder me on the spot.

"What are you- I mean…how can you- ugh!" Ann groaned. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Because he's my brother, and you're my friend?" I countered, but Ann was determined to keep everything a secret.

"That doesn't qualify as a reason!" Ann argued.

"Sure it does," I informed her. "You just don't know it."

"Well, I- wait, huh?" She seemed confused now, so I should use this opportunity while her defenses are low.

"If a reason is a reason, it shouldn't need a reason to qualify as a reason. So why have a reason at all?"

Ann at this point was completely befuddled. She opened her mouth, but just as quickly shut it. She put a finger to her chin in thought, and crossed her eyes in concentration. I had to stifle the laugh caused by her ridiculous facial expression.

She finally thought of a comeback. "Well, if you gave me a reason, that's a good enough reason to reason your reasoning, which in turn isn't a real reason, hence my reasoning."

Whoa. She's smarter than she seems.

"Fine! If you don't appreciate my reasons with a reasonable amount of gratitude, I see no reason to reason with you any longer, so this is a good reason to end this reasoning discussion…although without no reasonable reason," I told her, and turned to walk away, but her hand landed on my shoulder and prevented me from going anywhere.

"Fine."

**Rick's POV**

They sure sound like idiots right now, but it doesn't matter. I, unlike Claire, was paying attention to the results of the festival. Why did we have to come to this stupid festival? Oh yeah, Claire made me, because she wanted her precious sheep, Bubbles, to win. Who names a sheep _Bubbles?_

Apparently Claire would.

I glanced around at the attending villagers. Of course Barley and May were here, and some of Claire's friends like Ann and Mary. I also other people like Doug, Stu, and Cliff. Wait a second…Cliff? What is he doing here? Surely, _surely,_ he knows that Claire is here. Which leads to the question, why is he here?!

I clenched my fists and started making my way towards him. If he thinks he can just waltz in and defy his restrictions, he'll have to deal with me. Well, the Doctor…but I wanted to sound tough. I walked up to him.

"_What_ are you doing here?" I demanded. Cliff looked up at me in surprise.

"W-what is your p-problem?!" Cliff stuttered. I was speechless for a second. Cliff hadn't stuttered since he became friends with Claire. Now all of a sudden he's stuttering again. I regained my composure.

"I'll have you know, Claire is here. And if I am not mistaken, you are forbidden to be near her. Or do I need to go fetch the Doctor?" I threatened. I felt pride when Cliff's eyes got wide in panic.

"C-C-Claire's here?! I-I didn't know t-that!" Cliff sputtered as he took a few steps back. "I-I'll go n-now, I p-promise!"

He made to leave, but a squeal stopped him in his tracks.

"I can't believe it! Seriously?! You _did_ say yes, right?" Claire's excited voice echoed across the Town Square. I saw Cliff turn around with an expression of…hopefulness? No, that's not it…

"Of course I said yes! But isn't that so cute?! I couldn't believe it either!" Ann's equally excited voice replied. Both Ann and Claire were hopping up and down, a giant grin spread across their faces. Claire saw me watching, and came over to me and hugged me. I immediately felt my face heat up, and it was probably bright red.

"Isn't that so great?!" Claire asked me. I nodded, even though I had no clue what she was talking about. She then turned and caught sight of Cliff. She was silent for a moment, then started speaking to him.

"Hey, Cliff!" Claire greeted. "What a nice surprise!"

Cliff was visibly uncomfortable.

"I was just telling Cliff here that he should be leaving now," I informed Claire. Claire raised her eyebrows.

"But why? He should stay! I haven't talked to him in forever, and Doctor isn't even here! What's wrong with a little chit-chat?" Claire retorted. Oh no, why do I have a feeling this is going to end up being a fight?

"Well, Claire… One, he's forbidden to see you. Two, the Doctor _could_ show up any minute. And three, I think he should leave," I countered.

"_Excuse_ me! I believe it is _my_ life and _my_ choice. I don't care what the Doctor says. And if he does come, then so what? He'll say something along the lines of 'I am so ashamed…blah, blah, blah… go away Cliff…'. And lastly, why should I care what _you_ say?" Claire argued. "You're _Rick._ The stupid, chicken-loving nerd. You can't tell me what to do!"

My jaw dropped at this insult.

I watched as she stalked off towards the bewildered Cliff and dragged him off to the other side of the Square.

**Cliff's POV**

Wow. Just wow. So Claire _didn't_ hate me… at least I hope so.

Claire let go of me when we were out of earshot of Rick. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"Why are you here?" She questioned me quietly as she looked down at the ground. I couldn't speak for a second.

"B-Because…Well, I-I don't r-really know… I just l-looked up, and I w-was here…" I faltered. Claire looked up at me and tilted her head.

"You're stuttering," She said it like a statement, not a question. "You haven't stuttered since, when? When we became friends? Right?"

"I-I guess s-s-so…" I silently cursed my stammering. Claire's expression softened.

"Then why are you stuttering? Are we…are we not friends anymore…?" Claire muttered. It broke my heart to see her like this… "That's it, isn't it?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but she held up her hand to stop me.

"No…it's alright. Fine, we're not friends anymore… I can deal. But please, _please, _don't make this worse by trying to convince me otherwise. I know it's a lie if we say we're still friends, so it'll only make…make it worse..." Claire turned away from me and walked over to Ann, who was in an intense conversation with Mary.

Why was she doing this?! I still want her to be my friend. If she isn't…I have no one else… But still, _why_ do I feel all of these different emotions? Lonely, because everyone abandoned me. Sad, because of Claire's disease and the fact that we are no longer friends. Angry, because I am being blamed. And…jealous of Rick? No… I'm _not _jealous…

I started making my way back out of the Square, desperate to have some time to think through all of this…to somehow make it seem more real to me, rather than this sick dream. But something else caught my eye. It was the two men in black suits I had met earlier.

They were staring at Claire. Though I wasn't anywhere near them, when one of the men spoke a single word to the other, it seemed as though that word were magnified across the whole Square. And his smile didn't make it much better.

"Perfect."

**Ooh, who are those guys? :) If you pay real close attention to the words at their introduction, you'll probably figure it out. But who knows? My friends who read this couldn't guess... And hopefully I'll post the next chapter soon :D **

**You know what I'm gonna say now... REVIEW! Thank you. :)**


	12. Overprotective Much?

**Yes! School's out so maybe I'll be able to write more :) This chapter is basically all about Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hall...so if you guessed who they were, you'll find out whether or not you were right in this chapter :) So, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Never will Harvest Moon be owned by moi.**

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**Mr. Peterson's POV (at the mayor's house)**

"Hello! Yes, welcome to Mineral Town!" the 'mayor' greeted us.

"Hello. So you are the mayor of this…_wonderful_…town?" I inquired skeptically, putting emphasis on the word 'wonderful'.

"Yes, that's me! May I ask what your names are?" the mayor replied, indicating Mr. Hall and me. I raised my eyebrows. He should already know who we were…he invited us here after all. But then again, he doesn't seem that smart.

"I am Mr. Peterson, and this is Mr. Hall. Now let us get to business…" I started, but was cut off by Mr. Hall.

"Now, now, wait a moment! We don't even know the mayor's name! How can we start if we are not aware of what our business partner's name is?" Mr. Hall turned towards the mayor. "What is your name, if I may ask?"

The mayor stood there, confused. "Thomas."

Mr. Hall nodded. "Nice to meet you, Thomas… We can start now, Mr. Peterson."

"Okay," I sighed. "Mr. Thomas-"

"Just call me Thomas."

I really want to punch him right now…but it certainly wouldn't help.

"_Thomas,_ we are here, as I am sure you know, because of our company. The Moon and Stars Theatrics Company?"

Thomas nodded, but unsurely.

"You invited us here to-"

"Mr. Peterson!" Mr. Hall interrupted me. I turned towards him, annoyed.

"_What?_"

"As I said earlier today, I don't think this is the right place!"

"Not now, Mr. Hall," I growled through gritted teeth. "As I was saying, Thomas, in order for us to-"

"But what if I'm right? What if Thomas has no clue what you're talking about?" Mr. Hall wondered.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough, even though I am _quite_ certain that we are in the correct town, are we not, Thomas?"

"Uh…what?" Thomas questioned blandly.

"We. Are. Here. For. Our. Company. Does that make sense?" I stated. Thomas nodded slowly.

"You. Invited. Us. Here. Correct?" I continued. Thomas looked at me as if I was insane, and started to shake his head, but I stopped paying attention to him.

"Now! If there are no more interruptions, I would like to finish the business we have here. Our company has strict rules and guidelines. No nonsense. Our actors and actresses must be one hundred percent responsible," I explained. I pulled a folded piece of paper from my pocket and unfolded it. "This is our contract. By signing this, you agree to all terms and conditions provided by our company. Please sign here, here, initials here, and one more signature here."

Thomas hesitantly took the contract from my hands. He took a pen from his desk, which we were standing next to, and signed in the allotted places. He then handed it back to me.

"You said 'our actors and actresses'… are you a theatre company? I do not believe that I had invited you here…" Thomas admitted slowly. This took a moment to register in my mind. I shook my head incredulously.

"Wait…what?! Why did you sign the contract then?! I always abide by contracts, and now _after_ you had signed it, I find out we're not even in the right place! Are you honestly _that_ stupid?!" I snarled at him.

"Mr. Peterson… I'm sorry to say this, but… I told you so!" Mr. Hall taunted, pointing a finger at me. He can be _so_ immature sometimes…

"Well, Mr. Peterson, if it helps, I could still be of service!" Thomas reassured. I sighed in defeat.

"_Fine_," I grumbled. "But before you can help, I'll tell you of our purpose here, since you obviously don't know. We are going to host a play. The play will be Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps you've heard of it. Yes, anyway, we were invited to a town named Minirol Town, but we obviously got on the wrong boat. For you to help, you can start off by suggesting someone to play some of the important roles, such as Juliet, Romeo, Friar Laurence, and etcetera."

"Ah…I think I have heard of that play before… Juliet is a girl, correct?" Thomas inquired innocently.

I closed my eyes, and counted to ten. "Yes."

"That's perfect then! I know who could play Juliet!" Thomas jumped up and down excitedly, clapping his hands.

"Who would that be?" Mr. Hall asked.

"Why, Claire, of course!" Thomas said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"And who is Claire…?" Mr. Hall questioned.

Thomas grinned. "She's this wonderful young lady who lives at the farm south of here!"

"She lives on a _farm?_" I repeated in disbelief. She's probably stupid and disgusting…

"Yes, she has come a long way with that farm! It started out as a dump, and she turned it into a farming paradise!" Thomas verified. I raised an eyebrow. "If you'd like to see her, she's at the Square at the moment. There's a sheep festival today! She'll be the one with blonde hair."

I sighed. "Okay, we will go to the Square to see if she is…um, suitable for the role."

Mr. Hall and I left the mayor's house, and turned left, headed towards the Square. We fell into step side-by-side, and neither of us spoke the whole way there. But we both knew what the other was thinking. _Claire is probably a hick, and will never be Juliet._

We finally arrived at the Square, and scanned the area for any blondes. I saw a blonde on the far side of the Square talking with a redheaded girl and another girl with black hair, but her face was hidden. Mr. Hall and I impatiently waited for Claire to turn around. When she did, I saw that she had a young, heart-shaped face. Her light blue eyes were wide, yet cheerful at the same time. I turned to Mr. Hall, smiled, and said the one word that came to my mind.

"Perfect."

Mr. Hall silently agreed by nodding.

"Hey!" a voice yelled at us. We turned to see a young man walking towards us angrily. I recognized him as the person we had met earlier. Cliff was his name, right? Cliff stopped in front of us with a glare.

"What is your problem?!" Cliff demanded, crossing his arms.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Mr. Hall wondered. Cliff scoffed.

"You know what I'm talking about," Cliff said. "Don't even bother lying."

Mr. Hall looked at me with a look of pure confusion. "Do _you_ know what he's talking about?" Mr. Hall asked in a low whisper. I shook my head in reply.

"So sorry to break it to you, but we honestly do not know what you are talking about," I told Cliff slowly.

"Okay, then I'll tell you," Cliff stated scornfully. "Who do you think you are, just staring at Claire like that? It looked as if you were planning something, and I'm not so sure I like it!"

I thought about this. "Excuse us for a moment, Cliff, if you don't mind." Cliff looked as if he _did_ mind, but he stayed silent as Mr. Hall and I walked to a secluded spot in the Square.

"I think we've found our Romeo and Juliet, Mr. Hall."

Mr. Hall nodded in approval. "Yes, I quite agree! They seem like the perfect couple! They will act their roles sufficiently."

"Right, now we must decide on who will be the other characters," I concluded, with a quick glance around the Square. "I suppose we must finish speaking to Cliff before we talk to other people, shouldn't we?"

"Probably…" Mr. Hall looked over at an angry Cliff and shuddered. "He looks mad."

"Well, no duh. He caught us staring at Claire, who is probably his girlfriend or whatever, then we just walk off. Who wouldn't be mad?"

"A normal person?"

"Well, I would be mad."

"So you're not normal?" Mr. Hall smirked. "Interesting. I'll keep that in mind."

"Let's just get back over there," I growled. We walked back over to Cliff. I was leading, with Mr. Hall half a step behind me.

"Thank you, Cliff. You have assisted in helping us, and we are sincerely grateful for that. But we must be on our way. Good day," I said as I turned to leave.

"Wait!" Cliff yelled out, stopping Mr. Hall and I in our tracks.

"Yes?"

"You're not… going to, um…_hurt_ Claire or anything…are you?" Cliff asked with a hint of fear in his voice. Did we scare him that much? I smiled, though I don't know if Cliff saw it as a sincere smile or an evil smile.

"Of course I wouldn't hurt your girlfriend! Why ever would you think that?"

Cliff's eyes widened and a very noticeable blush spread across his cheeks. "B-But s-s-she …n-not…um, I-I'm n-not her… C-C-Claire isn't m-my…"

"Good-bye, Cliff!" Mr. Hall shouted cheerfully. We left, with Cliff still standing there, still stammering nonsense.

"She may not be his girlfriend, Mr. Hall, but he definitely likes her," I mused.

"He may even love her."

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**So...did ya like it? :) By the way, for anyone who is wondering, Cliff isn't stuttering when he's yelling at the two guys because he's angry, and he doesn't want them to think he's weak or something. **

**Review please! Any and all are appreciated! **


	13. Humiliation and Lies

**Stupid, stupid me! I honestly did try to get this up sooner...but I didn't like some of the scenes, so I rewrote them...which took forever because I got a wonderful case of writer's block. As usual. But this is the longest chapter yet, so it's definitely worth the wait! And I did include a little, _tiny_ scene with Gray...kind of. :D Unfortunately you will all hate me by the end...oh well... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, will not, cannot, should not own Harvest Moon or Romeo and Juliet. D:**

**-------**

**No one's POV**

Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hall continued throughout today and the next day to talk to random villagers, observing their personalities, reactions to things, and so on. They stayed within the 20-30 age group, they didn't really talk to the parents, elders, or kids.

"Hello, Miss. If you don't mind, could we talk to you for a moment?" Mr. Peterson questioned Jill. Jill raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Okay," she answered.

"First, may I ask what your name is?"

"Jill…" she told him.

Mr. Peterson thought he should first ask about her relationship with Claire. Was she her best friend? Were they related? Did they hate each other? This will basically decide which of the families Jill should be in for the play. Capulet or Montague. "Do you know Claire very well?"

"No, duh. Of course I know Claire!" Jill answered whilst laughing.

"Are you Claire's best friend, or something of the sort?" Mr. Peterson continued. Jill, done laughing, shook her head.

"No, we're sisters," Jill replied. Mr. Peterson nodded while Mr. Hall took notes on his clipboard.

Capulet, definitely.

"Alright, this question is kind of personal… but what do you think of Cliff and Claire's relationship?" Mr. Peterson inquired carefully. Jill glanced around the deserted area, making sure no one was listening.

"I am almost positive they like each other… they don't realize it though. Honestly, I hope that they never do realize it…I think someone like Gray is more suitable for her…" Jill said quietly, just in case there_ was_ someone eavesdropping. "He actually has a job, unlike Cliff. Claire needs someone that is able to support her, not someone that she needs to support."

Mr. Hall wrote this down. "Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Jill."

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"Excuse me, sir, but are you Gray?" Mr. Peterson asked Gray. Gray nodded silently.

"May we ask you a few questions?"

"Sure."

"Do you know Claire very well?" Mr. Peterson questioned for the second time that day.

"No…I practically never speak to her," Gray muttered.

Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hall didn't know what to make of this. "Do you hate her?"

Gray blushed a little bit, but it was barely noticeable. "Of course not." Mr. Hall made a small noise, indicating that he knew what character Gray would be.

"Thank you, Gray." Mr. Hall said as they were leaving.

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Mr. Hall and Mr. Peterson had finally finished the questioning, so they thought they should post the parts, and the paper briefly explaining the play, up on the bulletin board in the Square. Mr. Hall quickly checked over the list, and posted it up on the board. They left in the direction of the Inn, looking forward to a good night's sleep after that long day.

**Claire's POV**

I tossed and turned while trying to get to sleep. After a few minutes of futile attempts, I gave up, deciding a walk would help me. I slowly got dressed and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes. I opened the door, immediately feeling the breeze on my face. I walked off of my property and turned right, not really knowing where I was going. The next time I looked up I was in the Square, in front of the bulletin board.

"Huh…" I whispered to myself. "What's this?"

I read the paper that was newly posted.

_Romeo and Juliet_

_A play about star-crossed lovers, separated by their feuding families, finally united…only to lose each other in the end._

_Parts are as follows:_

_Juliet-Claire  
Romeo-Cliff  
Paris-Gray  
Mercutio-Ann  
Friar Laurence-Rick  
Nurse-Elli  
Lady Capulet-Jill  
Lady Montague-Mary  
Lord Capulet-Karen  
Lord Montague-Doctor_

_We are sorry if you are not of the same gender of your character. There were not enough men to play the male parts. We hope you are satisfied with your part, and will see you bright and early in the Church on the first rehearsal day-Fall 25. Thank you._

I giggled softly at Ann and Karen's part…they were unfortunate enough to get the male parts. I immediately stopped laughing, however, when I realized that I was Juliet. Me? _Juliet?_ I don't mind, but the part that bothered me about that was that Cliff was Romeo. From what I remember from the play…Romeo and Juliet _kiss. _How can I kiss Cliff when he is my best friend?! Oh wait…he's not my friend anymore…

I groaned and put my face in my hands.

If only I hadn't fought with him at the festival, we'd still be friends! But is that better? Would I rather kiss him when we're friends, or when we're not? But I know I was right when I told him we weren't friends anymore, he _was_ stuttering, after all… he had stopped stuttering when we started becoming friends, so that _must _mean that he doesn't consider me his friend in the first place, right? But what if he was stammering for another reason? What if he was nervous? What if he had something important to tell me, and was nervous about telling me…and I had just made it worse? I don't know…

I looked again at the rehearsal date. Fall 25. Today was Fall 22…I have a few days to sort out my thoughts.

And with that, I went back home…more restless than I was before I went for a walk.

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**Fall 25 – At rehearsal**

I sat in a pew at the Church; I was the first one here. I had thought hard about my predicament…and I had reached a conclusion, though I was not completely sure about it. And I definitely did not want it to be true…but it was the only thought that had made sense. I'm –

The Church doors opened very suddenly, followed by the voices of Ann, Mary, and Jill, chatting happily. Who knew Jill would become such good friends with my friends? Maybe it's a good thing…seeing as how I won't be here much longer…

"Claire! Oh my gosh! I can't believe you're Juliet! And Cliff is Romeo!" Ann trilled as soon as she saw me. "How _romantic!"_

"Yes, because a play is so romantic," I retorted sarcastically. Ann turned to Mary and Jill.

"Isn't it so awesome that Cliff and Claire are Romeo and Juliet?!" Ann asked them. They both nodded, but not as enthusiastically as Ann.

"Claire and Cliff, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes lo-" I interrupted Ann in the middle of her immature song.

"Ann! That is _so _not funny!" I snarled, but I'm sure the blush rising in my cheeks wasn't easy to miss.

"Aww! Little Claire is embarrassed!" Ann taunted.

"Ann…maybe you should stop?" Mary asked quietly when she noticed my increasingly irritated expression. Ann didn't seem to be stopping, so I decided to embarrass her in return.

"Hey, Ann? Maybe you should go back to the Clinic…I think Jack misses you," Ann stopped, but she didn't seem embarrassed.

"I bet he does," Ann said with a smirk. "But-"

"Alright, is everyone here?" a voice called out from the front of the building. I looked around and saw that everybody had arrived, yet we hadn't noticed. I did a quick headcount to check that everyone was here, and counted 9 people. Who was missing?

"Good, good! Let's get started then!" the same voice said. I glanced up at the front, but I didn't recognize the two men standing up there. "As most of you know, I am Mr. Hall, and this is Mr. Peterson. You have probably figured out that we are directing a play here, and it is called Romeo and Juliet. Does anybody not know what the play is about, or who your character is?"

Mr. Hall gave a fleeting look around the building. No one spoke. "Alrighty then! Can I please have the two people playing Romeo and Juliet come up here?"

Uh oh.

I stood up slowly and made my way up to the front, and saw that Cliff had been sitting near the front and was already up the steps and next to the two strange men. I suddenly became aware that I was walking down the center aisle. I feel like…a bride of some sort. It feels _weird._

I finally make it all the way up and stand next to Cliff, while Mr. Hall circles us.

"Now I am sure we made the right decision! Don't they make an adorable couple?!" Mr. Hall exclaimed. Everyone nodded, although the boys did grudgingly. I peeked over at Cliff, whose face was a deep shade of red.

I suddenly hated Mr. Hall. He was having fun teasing us. When Mr. Hall stepped in front of us, I did my best to glare at the back of his head.

Mr. Hall quickly turned around, and I hurriedly smiled. Did he see my glare? "You two may now go back to your seats!" He told us cheerfully.

I took a step down, when the Church doors slammed open.

My eyes widened. So _he_ was the person that was missing.

"I have an objection! I will not allow Cliff to be Romeo!" Everyone gasped. Doctor crossed his arms defiantly. "Claire, where is Rick?"

I winced at his angry voice. I pointed over to the corner, where Rick was lying down in a pew, sleeping. Doctor stomped over to Rick, and shook him awake.

"Wha-?" Rick shot up like a rocket. "Where am I?"

Doctor grabbed Rick's arm and pulled him up to the front. He then turned to Mr. Hall.

"I demand that you switch their parts," Doctor pointed to Cliff and Rick. Mr. Hall looked bemused.

"Why?"

"Because I have forbidden Cliff to go near Claire! He is a hazard to her health, and I do not want to cause her any more harm than she already has," Doctor explained. Mr. Peterson stepped in.

"What is your reasoning for this accusation?" Mr. Peterson inquired sternly.

"Claire has been diagnosed with a deadly disease, so I had asked Cliff to watch over her so she wouldn't hurt herself. He had failed to meet expectations," Doctor explained. "He allowed her to do a dangerous stunt that she almost died from. So I entrusted Rick to watch her instead. Rick has been doing an exceptional job. Therefore, if Cliff is Romeo, he could possibly do something that will hurt her, and I do not want that to happen."

Mr. Peterson looked from Doctor to Cliff, then to me, to Rick, and finally back to Doctor. "How could he hurt her?"

Doctor sighed. "I don't know. But he has proved that it is always possible to hurt someone, and I don't want to take any chances."

Mr. Peterson nodded understandably, but Mr. Hall wasn't satisfied. "Wait, wait, wait! Wait…wait. ...Wait. Wait. Wait, wait, wait…"

"We are waiting!" Doctor shouted.

Mr. Hall continued. "I think you are kind of being rude. I mean, sure Cliff could have disappointed you, but that doesn't mean that he will always disappoint you! Maybe he needs a second chance! Maybe you're just blowing things out of proportion. Did you _see_ Claire do that 'dangerous stunt'? Was it even that dangerous?"

Doctor glared at Mr. Hall just as I had earlier. "I saw Claire fall off a tree while riding a motorcycle, and Cliff was standing there watching."

"Oh…" Mr. Hall hesitated. "Then maybe he does need a second chance!"

"Would you give someone a second chance after that?" Doctor challenged, his eyes narrowed.

"Well…probably not…"

"Then it's settled. Rick is Romeo and Cliff is Friar Laurence," Doctor concluded. He then went down the steps and took a seat in the third row, next to Elli. Elli slowly moved away from him.

I looked up at Cliff and Rick, who were both silent the whole time, as I was. Rick was in shock and Cliff was clenching his fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white. They both saw me watching them. Cliff shook his head, while Rick tried to smile at me.

I have to kiss Rick? Eww. I shuddered at that thought. Now I'd much, _much _rather kiss Cliff. But that obviously wasn't an option anymore.

I made my way back to my seat and sat down between Ann and Jill.

"Okay…" Mr. Hall began when Cliff, Rick, and I have been seated. "Now that that's sorted out, let's begin with a scene I particularly like. Act 2, scene 2. Also known as the balcony scene! Later we will have the props and costumes and whatnot, but for now, we'll just use the script and improve how we say it. Okay, the people in the scene are…who else? Romeo and Juliet. Let's begin!"

I sigh as I got up for the second time. I walk up to the front where Mr. Peterson hands me my script. I wait until Rick is up here and has his script as well when I look at my lines. "Holy cow…we really have to say all of that?"

Mr. Hall looked at me. "Hmm…I see your point. We'll practice those lines later. For now we'll start at the line 'I take thee at thy word'. Good? Good!"

Rick started reading his lines. "I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo."

"What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night so stumblest on my counsel?" I read. "…What the heck does that mean?!"

Mr. Hall heaved a sigh. "It means that Juliet is asking Romeo who he is and why he is listening to her."

"Oh…" I answered.

"By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: my name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee; had I it written, I would tear the word." Rick recited.

Now feeling stupid, I asked, "And that means…?"

"Romeo doesn't want to be called Romeo, so he doesn't know how to answer Juliet's question," Mr. Peterson answered calmly. I nodded and looked down at my script.

"Montague a and Romeo not thou art: sound the know I yet, utterance tongue's that of words hundred a drunk yet not have ears my," I said. Mr. Hall and Mr. Peterson looked exasperated.

"Claire…what are you doing?" Mr. Hall inquired.

"I'm reading it backwards," I replied tersely. "I obviously don't understand it, so what's the problem of me reading it backward if it doesn't make sense either way?"

"Fine, fine. Why don't you just be a good little girl and read your part? Correctly, if you don't mind," Mr. Peterson growled. Offended, I crossed my arms.

"Maybe I don't want to. Why don't you be a _good little boy_ and shut up?" I countered defensively. Mr. Hall came up to me, and he looked kind of…angry.

"You should listen to us and do as we say, or you will no longer be Juliet!" he whispered while pointing a finger in my face.

"Maybe I don't want to be Juliet," I hissed right back at him. I threw down my script and stamped on it with my foot, just to emphasize my point. "This whole play is stupid!"

I stormed out of the Church angrily. Once outside, I stepped off to the side of the Church so if someone came looking for me, they wouldn't immediately see me. I took a few breaths and sat down.

Why had I reacted like that? Would I have acted differently had the circumstances been different? What if Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hall weren't the directors, but someone like Thomas? What if I was a different character? What if Cliff was still Romeo? Would I have stayed Juliet just so I could kiss him?

_No, don't think that, Claire! _I yelled inside my head. I mean, I probably would have acted exactly the same…those lines _were_ confusing and irritating, after all.

I _really_ wish this wasn't so confusing…

"C-Claire?" I heard a voice say quietly. Oh, great. Someone came looking for me. "Claire? A-Are you here?"

Of course. It just had to be Cliff, didn't it?

I stayed silent, hoping he wouldn't find me. I saw his head poke around the corner of the building, instantly spotting me.

"Claire, w-what are you d-doing?" Cliff asked. He sat down next to me, only causing me to stand back up and take a few steps away from him.

"What do you think? I'm avoiding everyone," I replied coldly. "And don't try to convince me to go back in there."

Cliff tilted his head a little, and I instantly thought of a puppy. "Why?"

"Because…because I was basically humiliated in there!" I blurted out. "First Mr. Hall just _had_ to embarrass us…then Doctor came and told those two complete strangers about my disease. I don't understand a word I'm saying when we were reading the script. And to top it all off, I have to kiss Rick! I mean…eww!"

Cliff looked slightly relieved at my disgust. Weird. "So…you're j-just embarrassed?"

I glanced down at my feet. "Yes…"

"W-Well…everyone gets embarrassed s-sometimes…" Cliff turned his head to the side. "I m-mean…I was embarrassed t-too when Mr. Hall c-called us up there…"

Crossing my arms, I said, "So? You're _always_ embarrassed."

"N-No, I'm n-not!" Cliff protested.

"Ha! That's funny," I retorted sarcastically. "…I don't suppose you'll tell me why you were allowed to come look for me? Didn't Doctor try to stop you?"

Cliff shook his head. "N-No one knows I'm o-out here… I snuck out."

"Oh," I said lamely. "Well…now what?"

"I g-guess…" Cliff began. "We c-could…sit here?"

I scoffed rudely. "That's a _great _idea. Especially since we're _already doing that_."

Cliff stared down at the ground. "S-Sorry…"

"What're you saying sorry for?" I asked, bewildered. Cliff looked around uncomfortably.

"Because you s-said that m-my idea was stupid…"

"I actually never said that…" I mentioned with a slight grin. "I said it was a great idea. But I was being sarcastic."

"Same difference…" Cliff mumbled slowly.

"Goddess, you are so depressing sometimes…" I groaned. "Hmm…Well…I know! We could go visit Jack!"

"Jack? I-I thought you h-hated him?" Cliff asked, finally looking back up at me.

I snickered. "We made up. Didn't you hear? Yeah, Ann, Rick, and I saved him from some wild dogs, and I was forced to talk to him. He ended up telling me the whole story of why he left me alone in the forest."

"And you b-believed him?" Cliff asked skeptically. I eyed him suspiciously.

"Yeah…why?"

"Well…from what I've s-seen…Jack doesn't seem very n-nice. Or truthful," Cliff scratched his head. "I-I think h-he might've been lying to y-you."

I stood there, frozen. What if Jack _was_ lying to me? Had he _wanted_ me to be stuck in the forest then? No…he was telling the truth… "No…you're wrong. He wasn't lying."

Cliff shook his head. "Are you sur-"

"He's not lying!" I yelled at Cliff. Cliff looked taken aback. "I'll…I'll prove it to you!"

I grabbed Cliff's hand, and pulled him up to his feet. I was too distracted to notice his blush that appeared the moment my hand made contact with his. I pulled him along towards the Clinic, determined to prove him wrong.

As soon as we were close enough to the door of said building, I reached out my free hand to turn the knob.

We entered the Clinic, which was dark. Apparently Doctor and Elli had turned off the lights before leaving…which makes sense. I let go of Cliff's hand, which I was still unconsciously holding, and went straight for Jack's room. Jack was still in the Clinic because Doctor thought that Jack had a mental injury. He wanted to keep Jack under a watchful eye.

I think the Doctor's crazy.

I burst into Jack's room without checking to see if he was even awake.

"Jack! We need to talk, now!"

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**Ta-da! You may now throw tomatoes in my general direction. Comments, critiques, criticism(is that the same thing as critiques?), and tomatoes are appreciated! (Well, not so much the tomatoes...)**


	14. Broken Hearted

**Okee dokee, so here is chapter 14! :) It wasn't too long of a wait, right? 2 weeks? Well, anyway, this is kind of an emotional chapter...it's happy, it's sad, it's angry, it's confused...and so on. And for the person who asked(xXLittle AngelXx), Claire has about 3-5 days left to live. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harvest Moon...I would not be me. Therefore, I do not own Harvest Moon.**

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"Jack! We need to talk, now!" I yelled. Now, I wasn't one to just change my opinion because of something one person said, but this was enough to make me furious. After all I've been through, why wouldn't I be? I had finally forgiven Jack, then I find out he might've been lying? No, I refuse to believe that!

Jack looked up from a book he was reading. A book, I realized, that is one of my favorites. I guess we're more alike than I thought. "Talk? About what?"

"Can you please inform Cliff that you weren't lying?" I ordered, pointing to Cliff accusingly. Jack seemed confused.

"Lying about what?"

Cliff decided to answer. "A-About your _excuse_ of why you left C-Claire alone in the f-forest!"

Jack looked between Cliff and I. "Seriously, Claire? You finally hang out with boys, and you get one that accuses me of ridiculous things with no proof whatsoever?"

He was right, of course. I had never had any guy friends when we were little. Now that I think of it…I didn't have many friends at all.

But that was beside the point.

"Is it just me…or are you avoiding the question?" I challenged, hoping that I was right, and Jack would just come out and say he told the truth.

"Of course I'm not! I'm just saying that you happened to pick friends that jump to conclusions too easily," he answered calmly.

"You're s-stalling," Cliff stated blandly. "D-Did you lie to C-Claire, or not?"

"Now, you wait just a moment!" Jack started, but Cliff got angry.

"_Did you, or did you not?!_" Cliff demanded. Jack looked at me for help.

"Claire! Please calm him down!" he pleaded. I crossed my arms.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you _were_ avoiding the question!" I accused him. Jack looked affronted. "Did you lie to me?"

Jack sighed. "No."

Cliff turned to me. "See? He's l-lying again!"

I gave Cliff a warning look. "Cliff…please stop. He said he wasn't lying, and I believe him."

Cliff opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. "Please. Let's just go."

Cliff and I headed towards the door when Jack called out. "Claire! Wait!"

I glanced back at him. "Yes?"

"You do believe me, don't you?"

I smiled. "Of course I do! You're my brother. Why shouldn't I?" Wow. Mood change, much?

Jack looked at Cliff uneasily. "Could I speak to you, Claire? _Alone?_"

Cliff grudgingly left the room. I stepped closer to Jack.

"Claire…I don't think he's the sort of person you should be with," Jack said. I raised my eyebrows in shock.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "No, he's not normally like that! He's usually shy…probably the shyest person in town! I don't know why he got so angered…"

Jack shook his head. "Claire, I'm sure I'm not the only person that's realized this, but-"

"Jack! You're not going to give me a lecture or something, are you?" I interrupted.

"_But,_" Jack continued, ignoring me, "Cliff is acting especially friendly towards you. I noticed it even when you shunned me out of your life. He isn't overprotective over anyone else; he doesn't even _talk_ to anyone else. Why do you think that is?"

"Well," I answered slowly, choosing my words carefully, "I paid attention to him when we first met…"

"Exactly," Jack stated. "Face it, Claire. He's fallen head over heels for you."

Saying I was shocked was an understatement. "Cliff? _Seriously?_ Jack…that's impossible!" I denied. "There's no way in the history of forever that Cliff would fall..._in love_ with me!"

"You never know, Claire," Jack smirked. "He could. Everyone else has noticed…I just can't believe you haven't yet."

"No. He isn't…couldn't possibly be…" I stammered. "Bye, Jack!"

I rushed out of there as fast as I could, ignoring Jack calling after me. I found Cliff sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room. He couldn't possibly be in love with me…could he?

"Hey, C-Claire," Cliff greeted. "Do you think w-we should g-go back to r-rehearsals?"

Ha, if he _did_ love me, he wouldn't be making me go back to rehearsals. Therefore, he does not love me. Problem solved.

"Unless y-you don't w-want to…" Cliff mumbled.

Never mind.

"But I-I think w-we should," Cliff told me, somewhat confidently.

Why is he sending me mixed signals?!

"Fine," I agreed reluctantly, starting towards the door, "but I won't like it."

Cliff and I silently left the Clinic, taking an immediate left towards the Church. I glanced over at Cliff. He was staring at the ground nervously. A few seconds later, he lifted his head to look at me.

"C-Claire?" he began. "What did…W-What did you and J-Jack talk about…?"

I stopped walking. How should I answer that? _Oh, we were talking about how you are in love with me! No big deal! _No. But I don't want to lie either…

Cliff stopped as well. Noticing my hesitation, he said, "Was it b-bad?"

I shook my head in response. "No…it wasn't _bad…_ We just…had a simple heart-to-heart conversation." There. That should appease him.

"Well," Cliff shrugged, "I-I guess it's not really any of m-my business anyway…"

I nodded and resumed walking. Cliff followed suit. We arrived at the door of the Church not much later.

Staring at the door, I took a deep breath. "I just realized something."

Cliff looked at me. "Hmm?"

"I realized that…I'm not going in there," I said matter-of-factly.

"Claire…"

"Nope. Not going."

"_Claire…_"

"I refuse!"

"_Claire!" _Cliff shouted, finally grabbing my attention. "You're going in there."

"B-But…I don't wanna…" I mumbled half-heartedly. Cliff put his hand on my shoulder and opened the door, forcing me to go inside. Everyone's head turned towards us. I crossed my arms and pouted.

Doctor was the first to react to our appearance. "Excuse me! Just _what _were you doing out there with Claire?!"

Cliff slowly turned, facing Doctor. I caught a glimpse of Cliff's face. It was pure anger. But it was what Cliff said next that surprised us all.

"I-I…am _sick_ of your crap!" he shouted. My mouth dropped.

"_Cliff?!_" I exclaimed. I had never…_never…_ seen Cliff stand up for himself. What had finally pushed him over the edge? "What has gotten into you?"

Cliff disregarded this question. Doctor got out of his seat, and made his way towards us, stopping when he was right in front of Cliff.

"How _dare_ you speak to me like that," Doctor hissed. "After all I've done for you!"

"_After all you've done for me?_" Cliff repeated. "W-What have you ever done for me?!"

"I have protected your darling little Claire, of course," Doctor remarked. "If it wasn't for me, she'd already be dead."

"Y-You take that back!" Cliff demanded. "I haven't done anything to hurt her!"

Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Really. What about the motorcycle? The oven incident? Don't think I didn't find out about that! All the times she was in danger, you were there!"

"Because you told me to be there," Cliff retorted. "Y-You told me to keep watch over her, s-so I did! You are to blame, but you're placing all the blame on me!"

"Then why didn't you actually try to protect her? Sure, you were there. But you didn't ensure her safety."

"Umm…guys?" I broke in. They ignored me.

"You didn't give me a chance t-to," Cliff informed Doctor.

"A chance? I gave you your chance, and you wasted it!"

"Hello…? Earth to Cliff and Doctor!" I interrupted, but to no avail.

"I-If you would just shut up for a minute-"

"Shut up?! I will not shut up! I have no reason to, unless I want to listen to your mindless wanderings!" Doctor insisted.

"_HEY!"_ I yelled at the top of my lungs. Cliff and Doctor ceased their bickering and looked at me.

"Claire," Doctor said somewhat irritatingly. "Please do not interrupt. It is rude. And this fight does not concern you."

"You are such a hypocrite! And a liar!" I shouted at him. "You interrupt people all the time! And I believe this _does_ concern me, seeing as how you are fighting _about_ me!"

Doctor was silent.

"I would like to explain something," I continued. "Everything that happened…was entirely my fault. _I_ was the one that forgot about the cake in the oven. _I _was the one that rode the motorcycle. _I_ was the one that drugged Cliff's food so he would fall asleep, because he was watching over me every single minute of every single day!"

Doctor looked at his feet, then back up to me. He was speechless. "I…I don't know what to say."

"I would appreciate it if you apologized to Cliff," I suggested, "for assuming he was the bad guy."

"I-" Doctor paused. "I'm sorry, Cliff."

"Thank you," I said impassively. "Now get out."

"You're kicking me out? You can't do that!" Doctor protested. "We're in a Church for crying out loud!"

Doctor looked around at everyone, only to see everybody glaring at him. "…Fine. I'll leave."

He slowly walked around Cliff and me, and went out the door. I smirked, then turned to smile at Cliff. My smile was wiped off my face when I saw that Cliff was now glaring at _me._ I took a step back.

"You…You d-drugged my food?" Cliff asked with a hint of betrayal in his voice. It was my turn to glance around the room. Everyone, minus Karen, who had helped me drug the food, had turned their glare towards me. Suddenly _I_ was the bad guy.

"Well…yeah," I admitted shamefully. "But you wouldn't leave me alone! I needed to have some time without you breathing down my neck!"

"And l-look how that plan turned out! B-Because you drugged me, you rode the motorcycle, which caused Doctor to hate me. This resulted in having everyone hate me, then everyone hating Doctor. And now they all hate you. Congratulations, Claire. You've just created your own enemy."

Tears threatened to spill over, but I held them back. "So that's it then? You know, I was considering having you become my friend again. But I don't think so anymore!"

"You are so full of it, Claire!" Cliff snapped. I was seriously scared now. Cliff had never acted this way before…to me at least. "Do you only think of yourself? Do you expect special treatment because you're about to die? Because you got the lead role in this stupid play?"

"No… I-" I quavered. "I…"

At this point, I couldn't go on. The tears that I held back overflowed and streamed down my face. My knees buckled, causing me to fall down onto the ground. I covered my face with my hands. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the owner of the hand and saw that it was Karen. Why would Karen be comforting me? Why isn't Mary, or Ann, or even my own sister?

"Come on, Claire," Karen whispered soothingly. I stood up with trembling legs, supported by Karen. She then led me out the door.

Now I know that when I die, I'll die with no dignity…and a broken heart.

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**Aww... poor Claire :( Honestly, I had no clue what would happen in this chapter, so I just started writing...and this came out. So, yeah...review, please! :) Next chapter WILL be posted soon, I promise(because it's already written)! :D**


	15. The Lady Stirs

**See? I told you I'd have this chapter up soon! :) Hopefully this chapter will help clear up some things (like why Karen helped Claire).**

**Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and Romeo and Juliet shall never be owned by me.**

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"Do you want a glass of water?" Karen offered when we arrived at her house. Her house was connected to the back of the Supermarket, but I hadn't ever noticed. I never really thought about where she and her parents lived.

"No, thank you…" I replied dejectedly. I stared down at the table that I was sitting at. I concentrated on the pattern of the wood, trying not to start crying again. Karen quietly sat down across from me, saying nothing.

Several times, I heard Karen take a breath, like she was about to start talking, but she never said anything. But this time when she took a breath, she started speaking.

"Claire…you may be wondering…" Karen began finally. "Why I came to help you in the first place."

I didn't say anything, but waited for her to continue.

"It's partially my fault," she admitted. "I gave you the idea of drugging Cliff's food. Remember? So you should be mad at me…"

I looked up at her. "No, I'm not mad."

"You should. And besides, it's not fair that everyone did that to you," she said. "They made you feel isolated, right?"

I nodded slowly, now staring at the wall behind Karen.

"I know the feeling," Karen told me sullenly. "I feel like that every day. Everyone hates me."

I shifted my gaze from the wall to her face. "Maybe it's because you sneer at everybody?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mea-" she cut herself off. "Well, yeah. I guess I do."

We were silent again.

"Do you…want to talk about it?" Karen suggested.

She was honestly trying to make me feel better… Wow. "I…It's just that…I thought…" I stopped.

"You thought…?" Karen prompted. I looked down again and started tracing the patterns of the table with my finger.

"I thought…No, it's stupid," I told her quietly.

"Claire, please tell me. I won't laugh or anything!" she assured me. "What's so stupid?"

"Jack told me…that Cliff…" I paused. "Jack told me that Cliff is in love with me."

Karen sat up straighter in her chair. "Oh. _That._"

"That?" I questioned. "What do you mean?"

"Claire…he _is_ in love with you. It's so obvious," Karen told me. "And I'm sure that he still loves you. How could a little fight change how he feels?"

"You have no idea, Karen…" I whispered. "You didn't see the look in his eyes…it's like he can't trust me anymore. He was just so…so…angry! I don't know what to do…I want to fix this. I don't want to be the person everyone hates."

I finished by banging my head on the table. "Tell me what to do, Karen!"

"First…lift up your head off of the table," Karen suggested. I did so. "Now…I'm not completely sure on what you should do. Your options are as follows: Talk to Cliff, ignore everyone, or pretend nothing happened."

I stared at her. "I can't do that! Cliff will kill me, I can't just ignore people, and this is too big to pretend it never happened!"

"Maybe you could make it up to him somehow?" Karen mused. I gave this some thought. If I could make it up to him, then we would hopefully patch things up before I died. Then at least I'll have a healthy conscience. Yes, this could work.

"That's not a bad idea," I said. "But what could I do to make it up to him?"

"I don't know…" Karen admitted. "I'll tell you if I think of anything."

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**Fall 28 – Day of the Play**

"This is it, people!" Mr. Hall exclaimed. "Our big night! We've practiced hard for this, so don't mess it up! Now go out there and show 'em what you've got!"

I walked over to the costume rack and found my dress. We hadn't ever worn our costumes, so I didn't know how this dress would feel or what it would look like. It had a corset with it, so I'm guessing it won't be too comfortable.

I carried my costume over to the dressing room to change into it. With some difficulty, I managed to put on the corset and slip on the dress. It was the tightest thing I've _ever_ worn. I could barely breathe!

Stepping out of the dressing room, I was immediately met with glares from everyone. I lifted my head up high, and walked past everybody. I still hadn't made up with anyone, because neither Karen nor I could think of anything that I could do. So after 3 days of enduring glares, I learned to just walk by, and not let them intimidate me.

On stage, I heard Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hall announcing the play to the audience. The audience consisted of our parents, siblings, and friends. Like Mary's parents, Ann's dad, Gray's grandfather, and so on.

"We would like to present," Mr. Hall's voice boomed, "the play famously known as 'Romeo and Juliet'! Enjoy!"

I wasn't in the first four scenes, so I had time to kill. Glancing around to see who was still backstage, I saw that Cliff, Ann, Elli, and Gray weren't on the stage. I could try to talk to one of them? It couldn't hurt.

I walked over to Ann, the most likely person to talk to me. "Hey, Ann…"

Ann turned to look at me. She had a cold expression on her face. "What?"

"Is it so bad to try to talk to my friend?" I asked innocently. Ann narrowed her eyes.

"No. But it is bad to try to talk to an ex-friend," she countered. Ex-friend? Was she serious?

"Ex-friend?" I repeated, hurt. "What…Why…Am I really not considered as your friend anymore?"

"That's right," Ann affirmed. "I thought you were nice. Maybe the nicest person here. But apparently I was wrong. You're just a self-centered brat that only thinks about yourself! I can't believe I believed that act for even one second! Just go away!"

"Ann!" I protested. "I can't believe…I thought you…"

"I, I, I!" Ann mocked with a grimace. "Can you think about someone other than yourself for one minute? You're so selfish; it's painful to talk to you!"

"But…" I whimpered. Ann held up her hand.

"No. Go away."

"But Ann!" I exclaimed. "Could you-"

I cut myself off. I had felt something on my arm. It was a very familiar feeling. It tickles, as if something was crawling up my arm. My eyes widened and looked at my arm. What I found was a spider.

I screamed. The scream was loud enough so everyone backstage could hear, but the audience couldn't. Cliff and Elli shot glares at me, but I ignored them.

"Get it off! Get it off!" I yelled in terror. "Get this freaking thing off my arm!"

I couldn't brush the arachnid off myself; it was too creepy and scary to touch. Hopefully someone would get it off for me?

Oh, wait. Maybe this is what Ann had meant? No. That doesn't apply here. This is my phobia, where I act irrational around the object of my fears. Everyone knows that a phobia is an irrational fear.

"Claire!" Ann hollered to get my attention. By this point I was hyperventilating and could barely see straight. "Calm down!"

"I cannot calm down! There is a spider on my arm!" I shrieked. "Get this thing off me!"

"Claire!" Ann yelled again. "If you quit running around, I'll get it off your arm!"

I stopped running in circles, which was what I had started doing, and went over to Ann. Ann grabbed the spider and threw it out the window, which was conveniently behind her. She turned back towards me, put her nose in the air, and walked over to Elli.

Great. She still hates me.

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"Claire, are you ready?" Mr. Peterson asked me. "I know you've never done this scene very well…but this time I know you'll do it perfectly. Correct?"

"Yeah, of course. I've got this," I answered. Mr. Peterson and Mr. Hall don't absolutely hate me like everyone else. But they still get short-tempered with me. Mr. Peterson was talking about the scene where Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and kills himself. Whenever we do this scene, I wake up too early. Every single time. I'm supposed to wake up when Cliff, or Friar Laurence, says the line 'The lady stirs'. But it's hard to hear him, and I sometimes forget which line I'm supposed to wake up at. Hopefully I'll do better today.

As for what part of the play we're doing now, I had just taken the potion that puts me to sleep. As soon as Friar Laurence finds out that Romeo thinks I'm dead, I'm supposed to go out there and pretend to be asleep until that line.

The lady stirs.

I must remember that.

"Alright, Claire! You're on!" Mr. Hall shooed me onto the stage, where I took my allotted place on the bed. I closed my eyes as the scene started. Gray, playing Paris, is supposed to come and lay flowers on my grave. This is followed by a fight between him and Romeo. I let my mind wander as the scene played out.

"Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew," I heard Gray say. I always have to stifle a giggle whenever Gray recites his lines. He's a terrible actor.

I listened to his gruff voice say his lines, but didn't register what exactly he was saying. I heard Rick enter soon after and have a sword fight with Gray. Romeo ends up killing Paris.

"O, I am slain!" Gray said with no emotion. This line amuses me. It's like saying 'Oh! I am killed!' or 'Oh! It's an airplane!'

This line is followed by Romeo lying Paris in the tomb and proclaiming his love to me. Bleh.

Finally Rick's lines end and he drinks the poison.

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**Cliff's POV**

"Romeo!" I exclaimed. This is such a stupid play. "Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains the stony entrance of this sepulchre?"

What is a 'sepulchre', anyway? Now I understand why Claire got so frustrated the first day. Oh well.

"What mean these masterless and gory swords," I continued. "To lie discolour'd by this place of peace?"

I really have no idea what I'm saying, but to stay on the directors' good side, I say all of my lines with no complaints. "Romeo! O, pale! Who else? What, Paris too? And steep'd in blood? Ah, what an unkind hour is guilty of this lamentable chance!"

This I understand. Friar Laurence is shocked that both Romeo and Paris are dead. Pretty simple. But now this is the moment of truth…wow that sounded cheesy. At rehearsals, Claire never woke up at the right time. Is she actually going wake up when she's supposed to? Let's hope so.

"The lady stirs," I said, loud and clear, for Claire to hear.

She didn't wake up. Of course. Maybe she didn't hear me?

"The lady stirs!" I repeated, louder than before. She still didn't wake up. She better not have fallen asleep!

"_The lady stirs!_" I said for a third time. Nope. Didn't wake up. I looked over to the side of the stage, where Mr. Hall and Mr. Peterson were standing. They had panicked faces.

Mr. Peterson mouthed the words, "_Wake her up!"_

I nodded and walked over to Claire. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Claire! You're supposed to wake up now!"

She still didn't wake up.

"Claire?" I shook her shoulders a little. She stayed asleep. "Claire!"

The audience started whispering amongst themselves. The other people in the play came out to where Mr. Hall and Mr. Peterson were to see what was going on.

I shook her a little harder. "_Claire!"_ I yelled as loud as I could. Still no luck. She didn't wake up.

"She won't wake up!" I shouted to the directors. "Get Doctor!"

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**Ooh, what's gonna happen to Claire? Review please! :)**


	16. It's Just a Nightmare

**Heh...sorry? :) Band camp started and I have been so, so, so busy...(and tired) Here's chapter 16! :D**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Harvest Moon.**

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**Cliff's POV**

I put my face in my hands as I waited. I, along with Jill, Mary, and Ann, was sitting in the waiting room of the Clinic, while Doctor was in the examination room with Claire. Claire hadn't woken up, and I'm afraid that she has finally…passed away.

I really hope not.

If she does, then I'll feel extremely guilty. We had the biggest fight ever, and it caused me to make the whole town hate her.

But I couldn't help it.

I had felt betrayed. She lost my trust.

"I hope she's okay," Mary admitted softly. "I feel so…guilty."

Jill and Ann silently agreed. I said nothing.

"She didn't deserve to be treated like that," Ann added. "I can't believe those things I said to her. I accused her of being selfish."

"Everyone's selfish if you really look at it," Jill chimed in. "I just hope Cliff isn't taking this too hard."

They all glanced over at me furtively. I still didn't move or say anything.

"Ahem," Doctor cleared his throat, making me look up. "I'm sorry to say…Claire had fainted, and is now in a coma."

"A coma?" I asked in disbelief. "Does that mean…is she going to die?"

"Well, it has been approximately 28 days since I diagnosed her disease…" Doctor pondered. "So…she has a very high chance of dying soon."

No. No! "Can I see her?" I requested.

"If you must," Doctor allowed me into the room with Claire.

Claire was lying on a stiff hospital bed, still as a statue.

"Claire…" I whispered as I stumbled over to her side. I got down on my knees and grabbed her hand. In a normal situation, I would be extremely embarrassed, but I didn't care right now. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me."

I heard a sigh. I gave the room a sweeping glance, but no one else was in the room. Well, that's strange.

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"Cliff, you need to eat."

"No," I pushed the food away from me.

Ann crossed her arms. "Look, I know you're sad, and maybe feeling guilty, but you need to eat."

"No," I repeated sullenly.

"She wouldn't want you to throw away your life like this!" Ann insisted. "She would want you to be happy. And she'd want you to eat. So eat."

I picked up the fork resentfully, not having the energy of motivation to eat the simple omelet in front of me. It hasn't even been a full day since Claire fell into a coma, and I was already depressed. I set the fork back down.

"No."

"Fine. You just go ahead and starve to death!" Ann growled. She then registered what she had said. "I mean...sorry. Forget I said anything."

"…I'm going up to my room," I mumbled. Ignoring Ann's protests, I stood up and trudged up the stairs. At the top of the staircase, I tripped slightly. I quickly became frustrated, and practically ran the rest of the way to my room. I slammed the door closed, letting out a groan. I crossed the room, sitting down on my bed.

I feel awful…

I looked over at the mirror and saw my disgruntled expression. My hair was a mess and my eyes were bloodshot. I angrily picked up a random object on the floor and threw it at the mirror. The mirror broke with a loud crash.

That definitely did not make me feel any better. I leaned back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Cliff…?" Ann's voice came from the doorway. "What was that?"

"I broke the mirror," I stated nonchalantly. Now she was going to lecture me. Yay. I was not in the mood for that.

"…With a shoe?" she asked bemusedly.

"Yes."

"Why did you break the mirror anyway?" Ann sighed. I glanced over at her. Her eyes were as bloodshot as mine were, though I hadn't seen her cry at all.

"I just…" I started. How do I explain how I feel? _I_ don't even know how I feel! "I don't know. Something just…snapped. I saw my reflection and got angry."

Ann stood there silently, drinking in my words.

"I guess I feel kind of guilty… Now I've lost Claire, and…" I stopped. Just saying her name hurt. "This is my fault."

"You're not Claire's only friend, you know," Ann whispered. I looked back up at her, to see her slightly glaring at me. "It's all of our faults. We all got mad at her."

"I know I wasn't her only friend…" I told her. "But I was the one that turned all of you against her. Tell me, Ann…why did I do that?"

"I'm not sure," Ann admitted. "I think that…maybe…we were all a little stressed. Every little thing set us off."

"I wish I could go back and change what had happened…"

Ann shuffled her feet. "I know, Cliff. I know."

I sat up angrily. "No, you don't know!"

Ann's eyes widened in surprise. "Wha-"

"You don't know how I feel!" I growled. "I feel so…angry. I feel like I shouldn't be mad, which makes me even angrier!"

I leaned back on the bed again. "You can't know how it feels, because I'm not even completely sure of how I feel."

"Don't talk like that…" Ann whimpered. "You really do know how you feel, but you don't want to admit it."

"You don't understand," I grumbled. Ann crossed her arms.

"Yeah, Cliff, I do!" she said. "You think you're the only one who fought with her! The only one that actually feels guilty! Well, you're not! Everyone…me, Mary, Jill, even Doctor, feels guilty!"

"Do any of you feel angry, though?" I challenged quietly.

"No, because we can handle our grief," Ann retorted. "Just because you can't figure out your feelings, doesn't mean you can accuse everyone else of not having any feelings!"

"Go away."

"W-What?" Ann stuttered, surprised.

"You heard me. Go away," I repeated. I was very angry at the moment, and I knew I would eventually take it out on Ann if she stayed in here. I heard her quiet footsteps walk towards the door. She paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not to say anything. She decided against it, and left the room.

Stupid Ann. Stupid mirror. Stupid shoe.

Stupid me.

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**Claire's POV**

Where am I?

I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was blackness. I put my hand to my head. I had a major headache.

I took a look at my surroundings. To my left – blackness. To my right – blackness. In front of me – blackness. Behind me – blackness.

So that didn't answer my question of where I was.

I slowly stood up from the bed I was laying on. Or, I guess it was a bed. I'm not too sure of anything at the moment. Walking one step at a time, to ensure I didn't run into anything, I reached a wall. I ran my hands across it, though I'm not quite sure why. I stopped when I hit a light switch. Yes, now I'll be able to see!

I flipped the switch. The sudden light that appeared blinded me for a second, but I recovered quickly.

Glancing around the room again, I saw that the walls were completely bare. The only things in the room were the bed I was indeed lying on, and a small table, which had a clipboard sitting on top. I went over to it and snatched the clipboard, hoping for something on it would give me some information.

_**Claire**_

_Gender-Female_

_Age-24_

_Height-5' 4"_

_Weight-130 lbs_

_**Diagnoses:**_

_Fluminant Myocarditis_

_**Symptoms:**_

_Nausea_

_Exhaustion_

_Muscle cramps_

_Black Widow bite_

_**Current Status:**_

_In coma_

In…coma? Wait, so does this mean I'm at the Clinic? And how can I be in a coma if I'm awake and walking and stuff like that?

But now that I think of it, I don't remember anything that's happened since the Romeo and Juliet play. Then…what day is it? It can't be too long after the play. Then again, I'm not wearing my costume anymore. Which I am very grateful for, by the way. It was hard to breathe in that corset.

I did a useless glance over the room again, though I knew I wouldn't find a calendar, let alone a clock to know what time it was, in here.

"I am officially creeped out now…" I muttered to myself. "Oh! Maybe this is just a bad dream! A very bad dream at that…"

After turning the light off, I crawled back into the bed I was in earlier. I laid my head on the pillow.

I can't be in a coma. I just can't. It's not physically possible.

And this isn't a dream…

It's a nightmare.

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**Dun, dun, dunnn! Haha :) So is Claire really dreaming, or is it all real? Only I know! (and a few other people...) I will honestly try my hardest to write chapter 17 quickly, but there are no promises, seeing as how I have 8 hours of marching band everyday, I have to finish my summer reading, and finish my summer homework. Yeah, fun.**

**So...review, please! Reviews make me happy. :)**


	17. What's Going On?

**Hello! This chapter was quite difficult to write...but I managed. School started last week, so I have almost NO free time. Well, there's not much else to say, so... here's chapter 17! :)**

**Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is owned...but not by me.**

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**Jill's POV**

I stared out at the ocean. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Complete opposite of how I was feeling at the moment. I was sitting on a beach in a town I barely knew, with people I've only known for a few weeks, my brother is in the Clinic for supposed head trauma, and my sister is in a coma.

_How much worse could it get? _I thought to myself. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I regretted it. Normally, something worse _does_ happen if you think that.

I rubbed my tired, bloodshot eyes. Almost everyone in town had red eyes now. I was kind of proud of being a sister of Claire, who was clearly quite popular here. But that didn't make me feel any better. Jack and I came here to spend time with Claire, and look how that turned out.

Conclusion? My life sucks. My sister is dying immediately after my parents died. Well, fate could be weird like that. It's like Jack and I were meant to be here in Claire's final moments.

Which reminds me…I have to go talk to Jack about Claire's…_burial._ I cringed inwardly. This would not be fun.

I stood up, and a prickly feeling shot up my left leg. Right…my foot's asleep. Well, that's just great. I half-limped towards the Town Square, giggling slightly as the tickling sensation increased with each step. My giggles grew louder as I made my way across the Square.

Why am I laughing? Claire is almost dead, and I'm standing here giggling? What's wrong with me?

I took another step and another laugh escaped my lips.

"Why can't I be normal?!" I shouted up towards the sky, flailing my arms.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind me. I turned around quickly to see May standing there somewhat shyly.

"Oh, talking to myself…" I answered unsurely. What _could_ I say? Tell her I'm going crazy? No thanks.

"Why?"

"Because… Well, because I'm having…issues…that I need to deal with," I told the young girl. She nodded, though she still looked confused.

"Can I ask you a question?" the little girl asked. I kneeled down to her height.

"Sure," I answered. "What is it?"

"Why is everyone so sad?" May wondered innocently.

Oh, this'll be difficult… "Uh…something…very bad has happened."

"Like what?"

"Well, you see…" How should I put this? Should I be subtle? Or should I tell her exactly what happened? "You know Claire, right?"

May beamed. "Yeah! She's my big sister!"

"Big sister?"

"Yeah, when she came here, I asked her if she could be my big sister. And she said yes!"

I never knew that… and it definitely doesn't help the situation either.

"That's great," I smiled wearily at the seven-year-old girl. "Was she very nice?"

"Yeah, she always played games with me and Stu!" May nodded enthusiastically with a smiled still on her face. Though her grin faded as she continued talking. "But I haven't seen her for a while…"

I sat down on the ground, and motioned for her to sit in my lap. She had a look of bewilderment for a moment. I guess sitting in someone's lap in the middle of town isn't very…normal. But she sat down anyway.

"I'm going to tell you what's going on," I started, "because I feel like you have the right to know."

I had finally made my decision to be completely honest with her. Sure, it won't be easy, but I think that it's better that May knew everything she wanted to know.

"About a month ago, everyone found out that Claire was very sick. We were all very scared, because we didn't want anything to happen to Claire," I told her. "So yesterday, Claire fainted. She was taken to the Clinic, and Doctor told us that she fell into a coma."

"What's a coma?" May interrupted.

"It's like a deep sleep. Some people can wake up, but some don't. And we think that…Claire will be one of the people that don't," I half-whispered. May squirmed around a little bit.

"Really?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes," I affirmed. "It's just…a matter of time."

"S-So I can never see m-my big sister again?"

"Um…well, you can _see_ her…but," I hesitated, "you can't _talk_ to her…"

Way to be sincere.

May's eyes started to fill with tears as she looked up at me. "C-Can we go see her right now?"

"Um…sure," I stood up, setting May back on her feet. She took my hand and held it as we made our way to the Clinic.

I pushed open the door and peeked inside. I saw Elli at the receptionist desk, but no one else. May and I went inside. Elli immediately looked up at our entrance and smiled. I nodded to her, then went to Claire's room.

Claire was in the exact same spot she was in last time I was here. Well, duh. Of course she was. She was lying on her back. One of her hands was lying on her stomach, and the other at her side. She was still breathing, because she wasn't exactly dead yet. That shocked me at first, but I recovered, telling myself that she's already half-way dead. I can't be expecting her to wake up and jump out of the bed or something.

May walked over to Claire's side while I stayed next to the door. "Hi, Claire…" she greeted quietly. "I really wish you were awake right now…"

Before I could start crying, I dismissed myself from the room and into Jack's room.

"Hey, Jack," I said to my brother. Jack looked over at me.

"Hi," he responded tersely.

"I think you know what we need to talk about…" I mumbled. Jack nodded understandingly.

"Yes, but I was hoping it wouldn't be this soon," Jack admitted, looking up at the ceiling.

I shrugged. "So, what do you think…?"

"I think…" he began. "…that…well, I have no clue."

"We have to think of something," I told him. "Hmm… Hey, does this town have a graveyard anywhere?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, now that I think of it… It's right next to the Church."

"Alright, do you think that's where…?" I trailed off uncertainly. First of all, it wasn't so easy to say the words _'bury Claire'_, and second of all, I didn't know if Jack would agree to burying her there.

"Yeah…yeah, okay," Jack didn't sound too keen to be talking about this, so I changed the topic.

"So, how has it been here? In the Clinic?" I tried to start small talk. Jack smirked.

"Awful."

"I see."

There was a silence. Not completely awkward, but not completely comfortable, either. I glanced around the boring, white room. The walls were void of any pictures or windows. Depressing…

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**Claire's POV**

I'm sick of this. Seriously.

I woke up in the exact same place yesterday, yet I still have no clue where I am. Well, I guess I have _one_ clue… the clipboard saying I'm in a coma. But other than that, there's nothing in this stupid room that could tell me what happened.

Let's do some detective work, shall we?

One…I woke up twice in the same completely white and boring room.

Two…A clipboard says I'm in a coma.

Three…I'm wearing hospital clothes. Hey, I didn't notice that until now...weird.

Four… Is the door locked? I went over to the door and turned the knob. Indeed, it was locked.

Five…This room looks _exactly_ like every other room in the Clinic.

And that's it. Huh…I didn't discover anything new, other than the locked door. But the door thing doesn't really help much. Well, now what?

I put my hands on my hips as I glanced around the room. Not only was I confused, but I was bored. Extremely. I stood there for a minute until I heard something from outside the door. Voices.

"Hello, Jack. How are you feeling today?"

Jack? But he's in the Clinic! So that means…

"Just peachy," I heard Jack's voice answer sarcastically. "When are you going to let me leave?"

"When I am satisfied that you are well," the other voice answered. If I wasn't mistaken, that voice belonged to Doctor. "Certainly you've had visitors? So you aren't lonesome, are you?"

"Yeah, I have visitors, but it's not exactly 'happy-doo-da' when they come."

"Happy-doo-da?" Doctor replied, sounding slightly amused.

"Yeah, happy-doo-da," Jack assured him. "Because a few minutes ago Jill was here."

"I would think you'd have been happy about that."

"Normally," Jack said. "But the conversation we had wasn't cheerful whatsoever."

"How so?" Doctor asked.

"What do you think? Me and Jill, and after what had just happened. What would be the most likely topic of discussion?"

"Ah, Claire."

What?! What were they talking about? Jack and Jill talking about something that happened with me… but what? What could have possibly happened to make my siblings have a sad conversation about?

"Exactly," Jack continued. "We decided we would do it at the…place…near the Church."

Do what where? A place near the Church. What's near the Church? The Supermarket? The Square?

"A wise choice."

"Yep," Jack said. They didn't speak for a while. I heard random shuffles here and there, but no more voices. I kind of wanted them to continue talking, out of sheer boredom, but it was a lost cause.

Sighing, I went back over to my bed and sat down. I wonder what everyone else is doing… Ann would probably be at the Inn, serving meals and cleaning tables as usual. Mary would be at the Library, quietly reading a new book. Cliff would be…where _would_ Cliff be? At the Church, maybe? Or wandering around aimlessly?

And is he still mad at me? Is_ everyone _still mad at me? Jack and Doctor didn't seem that angry…but Jack wasn't involved in the fight, and Doctor…he doesn't count.

I immediately felt guilty. Was I actually feeling remorse because of the way I felt about Doctor? I felt hatred for him. Because he was 'protecting' me. But now that I think about it, maybe he honestly was trying to help. He wasn't trying to make enemies with anyone, but to make sure I was happy and safe.

I sure do feel rotten now. If I was able to, I would go apologize right now. But I can't. I'm locked in this room.

My thoughts strayed back to what I had thought yesterday, or rather, the last time I woke up. Is this real, or a dream? How could I possibly answer that question? There's always the 'pinch test'. You know, where you pinch yourself, and if it hurts, you're awake. But you could still feel it in a dream, couldn't you? So that won't work.

But dreams are unpredictable, aren't they? Things don't make sense in dreams. People can fly in dreams, and I think that would be considered unpredictable…it defies gravity. Or how it's difficult to read in dreams. I've cancelled out that possibility just by reading that clipboard. Hey, the clipboard…

I've got an idea…

What if I could throw the clipboard in the air, close my eyes, and then see what happens? In any normal dream, it would stay in the air, disappear, change into something else, or when my eyes open, I'd be in a completely different scene. So this has _got_ to work.

I grabbed the clipboard and stood up in the middle of the room. Please, please let this clipboard do something totally random. _Please._

I tossed said clipboard above my head, and squeezed my eyes shut. Don't hit the floor…don't hit the floor…don't hit the-

_Clang._

I opened my eyes. And there, right in front of me, was the clipboard. Nothing strange, nothing unpredictable. Just the regular, old clipboard. Hope was lost. I'm not dreaming. This was real.

I'm locked in a room, and the only information I have is that something bad has happened, and I'm apparently in a coma. Now all there's left to do is figure out what happened.

But how?

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**Eh...how was it? This chapter was kind of a filler chapter (I think...). Nothing major had happened...but trust me, next chapter will have something important happen! :) Review? Please? :D**


	18. I'm Alive!

**Don't kill meeee! D: I'm not even gonna annoy you with all of my lame excuses, so here's chapter 18! :)**

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**Cliff's POV – Fall 30**

I kept my eyes fixated on the ground as I walked. I had no clue where I was going, but I didn't care. I just had to get out of the Inn. Ann had been talking to me nonstop. Whether she was yelling at me or comforting me, she was talking. And I didn't want to hear any more.

I looked up and saw that I was at the library. Well, that works. A quiet place with quiet people. It's perfect. I entered said building and noticed Mary sitting at her desk. She wasn't reading, like you would expect her to be, but she was writing. The scratching of her pencil stopped as she saw I was watching her.

"Hello, Cliff. May I help you?" Mary greeted me politely.

I shook my head. "No, thank you. I just needed a place that's quiet."

Mary nodded her head understandably. "Of course. Just make yourself at home."

I walked over to the towering shelves that held the many books the Library had. Not really looking for any book in particular, I grabbed one at random and sat down in a nearby chair. I looked down at the title.

_Be Happy! Release the Power of Happiness in YOU._

Of all the books I could have grabbed, I got a self-help book on being happy? I turned to the table of contents. The first chapter was entitled 'The Happiness Genie'. I'm not quite sure what to make of this. Any other time I would put this book back on the shelf without a second thought. But now, I don't know if I should read it. Would it really make me happier than I am now? I doubt it. No amount of self-help books could help me.

Immersed in my thoughts, I didn't notice Mary come up behind me. "I never saw you as the type of person to resort to self-help books, Cliff."

I turned around quickly to face Mary. "No…I chose a book at random…"

"Maybe so, but that book could actually help you," Mary informed me.

"I don't know if I should rely on a book to make me happy…" I told her somewhat sadly.

Mary shrugged. "Whatever you prefer," she said. "Here, hold out your hand."

I hesitated. Why would she want my hand? I held it out anyway. She placed something small in it.

"I know this doesn't go by the tradition…but here's something for the Pumpkin Festival," Mary said softly. I looked down at the item that sat in my hand. It was a fortune cookie. I raised an eyebrow at her. "Obviously it's not candy, and you're obviously not a child, but it's the thought that counts, right? And I thought you needed cheering up."

That made sense, I guess. But why would she think I needed cheering up out of the whole town? Ah, well. I opened the cookie, and pulled out the little slip of paper that supposedly held your fortune. These things were never accurate, but they're fun to read.

"_Today is a good day to visit your best friend; it just might help in the long run."_

Visit your best friend…help in the long run… This is clearly another inaccurate fortune. How could visiting Claire help anything? It can't.

Mary slipped the paper from my fingers without a word and read over the fortune. "Do you believe this?"

I shook my head. "No…of course not… It doesn't even make sense,"

"Sure, it does," Mary countered. "Visiting Claire would help someone… Just because you don't know who or what it's helping, doesn't mean it isn't. I think you should visit Claire."

A thought hit me. "Do you have any more fortune cookies…?"

"Why, yes, but don't you know only your first fortune of the day comes true?"

"Then it'll be your fortune," I told her. She turned her head away from me.

"If you insist…" Mary went over to her desk, and from underneath it, pulled out a jar filled with fortune cookies. She reached in and grabbed one. Upon opening it and reading the fortune, her face paled.

"What does it say?"

"It says… '_Someone near you is unbelieving. Convince them of what is right; it just might help in the long run._'" Mary murmured. I stood there for a second, then finally registered what the fortune said.

"But…the fortunes…they end the same…" I said. Mary nodded her head. "What do you think this means?"

Mary fidgeted a bit. "I think the fortunes are actually true…what are the odds of us getting fortunes that end the same…? And mine is actually kind of true."

"So I should visit Claire?"

"I think you should. We may not know what it would help, but it seems fairly important," Mary reasoned. "Besides, it would be good for you to see her again. You can't keep yourself locked up all the time."

I guess she's right…

"Okay, I'll go," I complied reluctantly. Mary smiled and nodded in satisfaction. I headed towards the door. As I put my hand on the doorknob, I turned back to look at her. "But I still think it's useless."

I saw Mary's grin fade as I faced the door again and left. The Clinic isn't too far away, so I decided to take my time. I wanted to stall the moment I walk in there as much as possible.

It's not that I didn't want to see Claire – I really do. But I'm kind of scared, to be honest. To see her lifeless body just laying there. To know that she'd never wake up, never talk again. Not to mention this might be my last memory of her. I fully plan on not going to her…funeral. I wouldn't be able to handle it. At least now I can see her when she's still breathing…still alive…hanging on to life by a thread…an inch away from death…

I can't do this.

But I have to, don't I? I don't want to come off as reserved and depressed to everyone else anymore than I already am. Granted I am slightly depressed, but that doesn't give anyone the right to talk about me behind my back like some people have been doing.

I finally reached the door, paused a moment to take a deep breath, and went inside.

It was quiet.

Well, what was I expecting? I don't know, but it still seemed too quiet for my tastes. I walked towards the room that had Claire inside, bracing myself. I jiggled the doorknob, only to find that the door was locked. This made me kind of angry. I mean, why would you lock up a person who needs serious help?

I stood there for a few seconds, contemplating on what to do. Should I get Elli to unlock the door? Or leave? Just sit here?

My questions were answered as Doctor passed by, immersed in papers.

"Hey," I said succinctly. Doctor stopped in his tracks and looked up at me.

"Yes?"

"Mind telling me why this door is locked?" I asked not-so-politely.

"Safety precautions," he answered uninterestedly. "Now if you excuse me-"

"Could I go inside?" I tried not to get angry at Doctor for his stupid 'safety precaution' rule. What is he protecting Claire from now? A kidnapper? I think not.

Doctor blinked tiredly. He looked more tired than last time I saw him. And I swear those were bags under his eyes. "Sure, whatever."

Huh? It was one thing for him to allow me what I wanted with no arguments, but to say it so…unprofessionally? I don't think I had ever heard him say the word 'whatever' in my life. Something was up.

He took out a keychain out of his pocket that held about 5 keys. He fiddled with them until he found the correct key. Inserting the key into the lock, he turned his head to me. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it again and looked at the door, pushing it open.

"Thanks…" I said unsurely. Doctor nodded and left, leaving me confused and alone. Except for the unconscious Claire across the room.

I felt my breath catch in my throat.

I recovered quickly, though, and strode over to Claire's hospital bed. Staring down at her, I saw her stomach moving up and down as she breathed. It almost gave me hope that she would be okay. But she wasn't. She was going to die soon, and it was going to hurt even worse if I keep thinking that she might survive this. False hope is worse than no hope.

You just end up disappointed.

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**Claire's POV**

I rolled over onto my side, trying to get comfortable. It was useless in this bed. I don't understand why hospitals have really bad, scratchy beds. It's not like they can't afford them.

In a last attempt at comfort, I pulled the sheets up to my chin and curled up in a ball. It was colder in here today than the past few nights. It really baffled me.

I sighed and resentfully opened my sleepy eyes. What I saw was not what I expected. The door was half-way open. So that means…I can get out of here!

I threw the sheets off of me and shot out of bed. The sudden rush of blood to my head made me off-balance for a bit. I closed my eyes and held my head, waiting for it to pass. I should really stand up slower from now on.

I opened my eyes once again and smiled. Now I will know what's been going on. I walked towards the door, getting butterflies in my stomach from my nervousness. I stepped outside of my room. I instinctively looked to my left first – it was a habit of mine. I was apparently in a hallway, because I only saw a blank white wall identical to the ones in my room. To my right, however, was much more promising.

I was definitely in the Clinic, for this looked exactly like the Clinic's hallway. I saw a few doors, only one of them open. I stepped slowly over to it, not knowing what to expect. I peeked inside. What I saw was Jack lying down in his hospital bed, staring at the ceiling in boredom. I gasped in surprise and excitement. Jack's head reactively looked towards me, and I ducked back behind the door where he couldn't see me.

"_Claire?_" I heard him whisper doubtfully. Might as well come out and show him it really was me. I did as my thoughts instructed me, and revealed myself.

I put my hand behind my head. "Heh…hi."

Jack's eyes couldn't have been wider. I don't know why he was so shocked. It wasn't like I died and came back to life or anything. "B-B-But…you…a-and the…h-h-here…alive-"

"Alive?"

"What?"

"I'm 'alive'?"

He looked at me, his mouth gaping, his eyes wide as saucers. "So you're not alive?"

"What? Yes, Of course I'm alive! Why wouldn't I be?" I questioned, truly bemused by the situation.

"But you're supposed to be in a c-coma!"

"Oh, I guess the clipboard wasn't lying…" I whispered more to myself than to my brother. "But I'm not…so you should be happy!"

"You were basically dead!"

Oh.

That explains a lot. I totally forgot that I had a disease and my month was just about over. But then why do I feel so…lively?

"Well, if you don't mind…would you tell me what exactly is going on?" I tried to keep calm, not freak out because Jack thought I was dead.

"B-But…you're dead!" Jack didn't seem to be able to comprehend the idea that I'm standing here, not dead.

"Okay, fine, I'm dead," I told him. "Now will you tell me what happened?"

"There's no such things as ghosts…there's no such things as ghosts…there's no such thin-"

I interrupted his chanting. "I'm not a ghost!"

Jack stopped and looked at me. "I can't believe this."

"Believe it!"

"Okay?"

"Now, please, tell me what's going on?" I pleaded. I needed answers, and I was prepared to get down on my knees and beg for them if I had to.

Jack's eyes shot around the room for reasons unknown. He glanced back at me, a mixture of fear and shock in his brown eyes. "Okay…" he began softly. "A few days ago…you sort of…fainted. Doctor told everyone you were in a coma, and that you were about to die."

"That clears things up a little," I admitted. My stomach growled suddenly. I then noticed how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten in days. "Uh…do you have any food?"

Jack seemed very uncomfortable. "Yeah. Here."

He grabbed an uneaten salad from his bedside table, that I surprisingly hadn't noticed, and a fork. I snatched it eagerly.

"Now explain something to me…" Jack hesitated. I nodded to him to show I was listening as I stuffed a forkful of food into my mouth. "How are you alive?"

"Idun reelyno, tubahu nest," I mumbled through the mouthful of food. I'll be surprised if he understood anything I just said.

"Huh?"

I swallowed. "I don't really know, to be honest."

Jack looked disappointed, and his eyes flickered down to the ground. "Oh. I was hoping…you know, you would have some proof that you're real…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait," I cut him off, holding up my hand to stop him. "Proof? Why would you need proof when I'm standing right here?"

"I could be hallucinating…" Jack offered lamely.

"This is ridiculous…" I said to myself. I turned around and started walking back towards the room I was in, still holding the salad.

"Wait!" I heard Jack yell from behind me. I stopped and turned back slowly.

"What?"

"Look, Claire…" Jack began. "You can't blame me for being hesitant. After all, we've all been told that you were on the verge of death."

I sighed. "Jack. I don't know how to prove I'm real, so you'll just have to believe me. _I am real._ I'm alive. If you can't accept that, then too bad. Because there's nothing else I can do."

Jack stared at me helplessly, at a loss for words. I rolled my eyes in slight annoyance at his silence, and turned around for the third time.

"Well what do you expect?!" Once again, Jack stopped me from leaving by yelling. "We were so sure you were dead, that we even started planning your funeral! You can't just pop up from the dead! You just can't…"

He hid his face in his hands.

"A…funeral?" I muttered softly. He had to be serious… Jack wouldn't just say stuff like that out of the blue.

"Yes, a funeral!" His face was still in his hands, so his words came out slightly muffled. "Of course we started planning a funeral. You thought we wouldn't?" He lifted his head to look at me. "You're our sister, and we love you. There's nothing that you could've done to make us not want to say goodbye to you properly."

"Oh," was all I could say. I was completely stunned. And touched. Jack and Jill were going to give me a funeral, even if it cost a fortune, because they love me. They love me. And I love them. Then what about…? "Um, thanks for the food, Jack. I, uh, gotta go now."

I knew if I told Jack what I was about to do, he'd try to stop me. "Bye!"

I shot out of Jack's room and down the hallway. But not towards my room, but to the entrance of the Clinic. I had to see him. I just had to.

I instinctively looked around when I got to the waiting room of the Clinic. No one was here. Good. I ran out the door and into the late afternoon air. Where would he be at this time?

I really had no clue, so I started walking around aimlessly around town. There was no one outside, which was weird. Everyone is normally out and about at this time…

Let's see…if I were Cliff, where would I be? The church? The Inn? The library? I don't know why, but I had a feeling he wasn't at any of those places. So, I went down to the south part of town. Near my farm and the forest. I sped down the pathways, all the way to the entrance of my farm. Just the sight of my house and the field brought back memories. But now wasn't the time to think about that. I had to find Cliff.

I ran through my farm, and out the south entrance of it, into the forest. I had a gut feeling that I was getting closer. I glanced around, but didn't see anybody. Could he be at…?

I sprinted up the trail leading up to the Goddess Pond. I reached the end of the path and stopped, catching my breath. Panting, I scanned the area. Was he here? I was about to give up when I saw a figure sitting on the ground and leaning against a tree. Who is that?

I tip toed up to the person, hoping desperately that it was Cliff. I finally got a good look at the person, and I saw the face of a sleeping Cliff.

Yes!

I kneeled down next to him, ignoring his strange sleeping spot. I tilted my head as I examined his condition. His brown hair looked kind of grungy, and his eyes had huge bags under them, as if he hadn't slept in days. He just looked awful.

"Cliff…" I muttered. "I'm sorry I fought with you. I really wish you were awake so we could talk. I don't want us to hate each other…"

As I said this, memories of our fight flooded my mind. It hurt. It was all my fault that we fought in the first place. If I hadn't been so selfish and stuck-up…

"I apologize, Cliff," I told the still sleeping Cliff. "I hope that you will forgive me. And you know what? I found out that everyone thinks I'm dead. Well, I'm not, Cliff. I'm alive, and you _really_ need to wake up now. I have something I want to tell you….although I'd probably be too cowardly to say it to your face."

I feel pretty silly talking to a sleeping person, but I didn't care at the moment.

"So I'll say it right now," I took a big breath. "I love you. There, I said it. Are you happy? I've been in love with you for a while now, I just didn't know it. And I also know that that's what everyone says, but it's true. I really do love you, Cliff."

And I wasn't lying. When Jack told me about the funeral and how he and Jill loved me, I realized that I did love Cliff. I saw that to be in love means being there for each other. My brother and sister were there for me. Cliff was there for me. Cliff had helped me even when I didn't want any help. When I didn't appreciate it. But now I do, and it's probably too late.

Because I'm dead to him.

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**:D :D :D So are you happy with this chapter? Sad? Angry? Weirded out? Neutral? Tell me! (in your reviews, of course!) :)**


	19. I Don't Care

**Um...hi? :) I don't really like this chapter, so I won't blame you if you hate it too... so here's chapter 19!**

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**Cliff's POV**

"I really do love you, Cliff," I heard a voice say. Whose voice is that? It sounded a lot like…

No. It can't be.

Not long after the unknown person spoke, I heard running feet. Was the person running away? From what?

I tried to open my eyes, but I was too tired. When was the last time I actually slept? I don't know, but I guess I'll have to do with sleeping right now…

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**Jack's POV**

I shook my head as I saw Claire run past my room towards hers. Claire's an odd one.

I glanced at the clock. 8:00 PM. She's been gone for an hour? Where could she have gone? Why did she leave so suddenly? Did anybody see her?

All of these thoughts and questions swarmed my mind as I slowly began to get sleepy. My eyes started to droop.

Why was she running when she got back?

My head fell back against the pillow as drowsiness started overcoming me.

Am I going to see her again tomorrow?

My eyes shut as I completely succumbed to sleep.

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I was awakened by a bright light shining in my face. I squinted and looked around, confused.

"Wha…?" I mumbled incoherently.

"Wake up, sleepy-head!" a familiar voice spoke. "Rise and shine!"

"Ann?" I opened my eyes completely to see that Ann was sitting next to my bed. She looked happy, yet exhausted at the same time.

"Good morning!" Ann told me. I looked at her, frowning.

"Ann…" I uttered. "Ann!"

She raised an eyebrow in bewilderment. "Yeah?"

"I have to tell you something!" I shouted. I needed to tell _someone,_ right? And Ann would be the only one that believed me. Except for Jill, but she's not here.

Ann tilted her head. "You can tell me anything."

"Claire's alive!"

Ann blinked and leaned forward, putting a hand on my forehead. She then pulled back her hand and sighed. "Jack… Claire is-"

"Dead, I know," I interrupted. "But she's not! I saw her last night!"

"Was it a dream?"

"No!" I protested. Why wouldn't she believe me? I wouldn't lie about something like this. "I saw her with my own two eyes, when I was wide awake. I can even tell you what time it was, what she said, what I said, what she did…"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Ann waved her hands to stop me. I shut up. "I'll go check on her, and I'll come back and tell you how she's doing, alright?"

"Okay..." I muttered dejectedly.

Ann left, and I was alone in my room once again. I still don't understand why she doesn't believe me. Why would I lie to her? I've never lied! Well, maybe once, but it was just a white lie…

The point is she should trust me. She's treating me like a child.

Ann reentered the room with a frown on her face.

"Well?" I asked hopefully. Maybe Claire was awake? But then Ann would be more enthusiastic, not frowning.

"She looks exactly like she did yesterday. She's still in a coma," she told me. I shook my head.

"No, go get Doctor then!" I insisted. I refused to give up. "He knows more about medical stuff than you do. No offence, though."

Ann smiled a little. "None taken."

She left once again to bring Doctor. As much as I hated him, he was basically the only person who could determine the level of Claire's health.

Doctor came in the room with a bored expression. "What's wrong?"

"Claire's alive."

Doctor stared at me uninterestedly. "Right. Okay. Let me take your temperature real quick, then I'll-"

"No! I'm not sick! I'm not deluded! Go check on Claire right now!" I yelled at him. He thinks I'm crazy! Well, I'm not, and I won't let him think that. "I'm perfectly sane."

"As sane as you may be, it is clearly impossible for Claire to survive at this point in time," Doctor explained, but I didn't give up.

"Lies! It's all lies!" I threw myself out of my bed and stormed out of my room, ignoring the protests of Doctor, and the piteous stares from Ann. "I'll prove it to you."

I ran to the room that Claire was in, determined to prove them wrong. I burst through the door, and went over to Claire. I shook her shoulders slightly. "Claire, wake up."

She moaned a bit, but didn't wake up. Was she in a deep sleep? Her sleep schedule might be off…

I shook her a little more, but not enough to harm her. "Claire, wake up, please."

Claire took a deep breath and relaxed, but still stayed asleep. Definitely just in a deep sleep.

It was at that moment that Doctor and Ann walked in.

"Watch this," I told them as I shook Claire for a third time. She didn't make any sounds that time. "Wait…"

Why does she choose the most crucial times to be silent? Now they'll never believe me!

"Jack, go back to your room," Doctor ordered me with a sigh, and I reluctantly obeyed, hanging my head.

"Sorry about this…" Ann whispered to Doctor from behind me. "I think it's just shock."

"Perfectly understandable," he replied. I didn't even bother to turn around to tell them they were wrong, or even that I can hear them talking about me.

I sulked into my room and slid back into the bed. Well, this sucks. But I know I'll find a way to prove she's not dead. It's not over yet.

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**Cliff's POV**

"Didn't you hear? Everyone's talking about it. Seems he was very determined, too. Poor boy…"

I couldn't help but eavesdrop, I mean, they were standing right there, a few feet away from me. No matter how much I tried to not listen, I couldn't block out Manna's annoying talkative voice.

"I just only wish it were true, she was a sweet girl. But he saying all of that isn't helping anything, to be honest. Just makes him seem out of his mind. Don't you agree?"

What is she going on about?

"Yes, I quite agree. It's a shame that his mind was affected by the shock of losing his sister. It must be torturous to him, seeing the hallucination of a loved one," Anna chimed in.

"But if only it were true…if only she _was _alive…" Sasha sighed.

Manna frowned. "Claire doesn't deserve to die. I'm sure Jack is thinking the same, which is causing all of this. He wants her to be alive so much that he believes that he saw her walking around."

"Yes, yes…" Anna agreed. "Oh, would you look at the time! I've got to get going now. Bye!"

Anna sauntered off, leaving the other two standing there.

"I suppose I'll go too," Sasha said.

Manna nodded. "Me too."

They both ambled off in the same direction that Anna went. I didn't move at all. So that's what all of this is about. Well, it's not like I can do anything to help the situation. I'll just stay out of it.

I started absently walking towards the Inn, ignoring all surroundings and thoughts. Though whenever I passed a group of people, for some reason I couldn't not listen in.

"Yeah, he claimed to have seen her walking around yesterday."

"Of course I don't believe him! That's ridiculous."

"I just don't know what to believe in anymore…"

It wasn't until I passed a particular group, which included Karen, Gray, and Rick, that I actually registered what they were saying.

"Yeah," Karen whispered."I heard that they're sending Jack off to a psychiatric ward immediately after the funeral."

"When's the funeral?" Rick asked. I trembled with anger at the sight of him. I'm not sure why, but there's something about him that…irritates me.

"I think it's tomorrow," Gray grunted as he crossed his arms.

"Tomorrow?!" Rick gasped. "Why so soon, though?"

Karen half-smiled. "They don't want Jack to suffer more than he already has. Well, him and Cli-"

She stopped as soon as she saw me. I'm positive she was about to say my name. But, hey, why do I care? I don't.

I strolled past the group, not giving them any acknowledgement. I just ignored them.

I felt their eyes follow me all the way to the door of the Inn. I opened the door and went inside, still ignoring any glances or stares I received.

Continuing towards the stairs, I heard someone call out my name. I turned to see who it was.

I saw Jill sitting at a table by herself, motioning for me to come sit with her. I stood there for a second, contemplating whether I should go over there or not. I finally decided I should, and I made my way over to her table.

Jill smiled. "Sit, sit," she offered me a chair. I sat.

"Now," Jill began. "I'm not sure if you know yet, but Claire's funeral will be-"

"Tomorrow, I know," I interrupted, not caring if I came off as rude.

"Uh, right," Jill's smile was replaced by a frown. "The other villagers and I agreed that you should say a few words in Claire's honor. You were her best friend, right? So it seems fit for you to make a speech."

I stared at her. Did I really want to go to her funeral? Where everyone will be mourning over Claire's dead body? No, thanks.

"No."

Jill faltered. "But…but we really think you should, and…"

"No," I repeated. There was no way I would go to that funeral.

"Well, fine. Don't. See if we care…" Jill gave up. I could see the tears starting to form in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "I should be going now."

Jill stood up and left, not giving me a second glance. I don't really care if I just hurt her feelings. I don't care about anything anymore…

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**Bad, bad, bad ending! Told you it wasn't that good... the next chapter will (hopefully) be better! Review, please! :)**


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